Distribution and retrieval of inventory and materials using autonomous vehicles

ABSTRACT

Autonomous vehicles may be deployed to areas where an item is in demand, and configured to fulfill orders for the item received from the areas. The autonomous vehicles are loaded with the item and dispatched to the area under their own power or in a carrier. When an order for the item is received, an autonomous vehicle delivers the item to a location in the area. Autonomous vehicles may also be equipped with a 3D printer or other equipment and loaded with materials for manufacturing the item. When an order for the item is received, the autonomous vehicle manufactures the item from such materials, and delivers the item. Autonomous vehicles may be configured for collaboration, such as to deliver or manufacture items in multiple stages and to transfer the items between vehicles. Autonomous vehicles may also be configured to automatically access locations in the area, e.g., using wireless access codes.

BACKGROUND

The advent of Internet-based electronic commerce in the 1990s spawnedthe development of online marketplaces, which are increasingly commonelectronic forums through which customers may place orders for one ormore items over the Internet. Online marketplaces enable customers tovisit one or more network sites from any corner of the globe, to viewand evaluate items, and to place orders for the purchase of such itemsover the Internet. Initially, orders for items that were placed atonline marketplaces over the Internet were fulfilled at the originallocations of vendors (or manufacturers, merchants or other sources ofthe items), from which the items would be shipped to customers viafirst-class mail or another common carrier.

Online marketplaces soon became victims of their own successes, however,as gains in time or efficiency that were realized through the ease bywhich customers could place orders for items were soon consumed bylosses due to delays in shipping the ordered items from their originallocations to customers. Eventually, the growth of online marketplaces,and the rapid expansion in the scope and breadth of their availableofferings, led to a concomitant proliferation of fulfillment centers. Afulfillment center is a facility, a warehouse or another like structurethat is constructed in a distributed, centralized location and adaptedto receive items from sources of the items (e.g., vendors or otherfulfillment centers). Fulfillment centers may include stations forreceiving shipments of items, for storing such items, and/or forpreparing such items for delivery to customers. When an order for thepurchase of one or more of the items stored in a fulfillment center isreceived from a customer, the ordered items may be retrieved from thespaces or areas in which such items are stored, and prepared fordelivery to the customer, e.g., by packing the ordered items into one ormore appropriate containers with a sufficient type and amount ofdunnage, and delivering the containers to a destination designated bythe customer.

Online marketplaces and fulfillment centers are engaged in a symbioticgrowth pattern that mimics a classic causality dilemma: the popularityof online marketplaces has increased the demand for the distributedstorage of items, and increases in the availability of distributedstorage have in turn enabled online marketplaces to expand theiravailable offerings. The expansion of offerings that are available atonline marketplaces have continued to elevate their popularity and,therefore, have resulted in an ever-increasing demand for moredistributed storage. To date, online marketplaces have traditionallyresponded to increases in the demand for increased storage with theconstruction of more and more fulfillment centers, with the intent ofplacing more and more items in locations that are ever closer tocustomers or other destinations.

The elasticity of the demand for fulfillment centers has its limits,however. In order to accommodate vast numbers and types of items ofvarious sizes, some fulfillment centers may feature storage areas aslarge as one million square feet or more, and are constructed at a costof dozens of millions of dollars or more. Because electronic commerce,like traditional commerce, is subject to seasonal fluctuations andtypically peaks during year-end holiday seasons, a fulfillment centerthat is sized to accommodate maximum receiving, storing and distributionflows of items and capacities during peak periods is underutilizedduring times of reduced demand. Moreover, in locations of highpopulation densities, e.g., cities and other urban areas, real estatevalues are typically at a premium, and the construction of more andlarger fulfillment centers may become cost-prohibitive. Thus, at somepoint in time, and in many locations, online marketplaces may be forcedto search for other ways to improve the distribution of items to suchlocations, and to respond to increased demands at such locations, atlower costs.

A reciprocal problem typically hinders the efficiency of recyclingefforts. In the 1970s and 1980s, municipalities began coordinatingrecycling with their traditional trash collection systems and methods,with many towns and cities offering curbside collection of recyclablesalongside garbage, or accommodating the receipt of recyclables, alongwith trash, at their transfer stations (e.g., dumps).Municipally-sponsored recycling systems typically sell or donaterecyclable materials to companies that reprocess them into a usableform, which may then be resold to manufacturers of products or other endusers that require such materials. While such efforts are certainlynoble, most recycling systems are financially unprofitable oruneconomical at least because of the numbers of entities that receive orhandle recyclable waste, the lengths of time required to process thewaste into a valuable end product, or the distances over which the wastemust travel before it may be used again.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A through 1H are views of aspects of one system for distributingor retrieving inventory or materials using autonomous vehicles inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams of components of one system fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of one process for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a view of one autonomous ground vehicle for distributing orretrieving inventory or materials in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 5A through 5H are views of aspects of one system for distributingor retrieving inventory or materials using autonomous vehicles inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a view of aspects of one system for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a view of aspects of one system for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 8A through 8F are views of aspects of one system for distributingor receiving inventory or materials using autonomous vehicles inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of one process for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are views of aspects of one system fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of one process for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 12A through 12H are views of aspects of one system fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As is set forth in greater detail below, the present disclosure isdirected to distributing or retrieving inventory or materials, e.g., toor from customers or other end users of inventory or materials, or to orfrom locations where the inventory or materials are to be used or wereused. More specifically, some embodiments of the systems and methodsdisclosed herein are directed to distributing inventories of consumergoods or other items to locations where demand for such items is known,observed or predicted, using an autonomous vehicle (e.g., an autonomousground vehicle) having a predefined set of dimensions or attributes, ora fleet of such vehicles having any number of sets of dimensions orattributes. Some embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed hereinare also directed to retrieving items or materials, e.g., waste productsgenerated by the use of such items, or remnants or scraps of such items,from locations where such items or materials were used or disposed,using one or more autonomous vehicles. Some other embodiments of thesystems and methods disclosed herein are directed to autonomous vehiclesthat are configured to manufacture or produce items using stockmaterials along with other materials that are retrieved from one or morelocations, including but not limited to locations where items were usedor disposed, and delivering items manufactured or produced thereby tocustomers or their intended destinations using such autonomous vehicles.

Referring to FIGS. 1A through 1H, views of aspects of one system 100 fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure areshown. As is shown in FIG. 1A, the system 100 includes a fulfillmentcenter 130 and a plurality of customers 140-n, e.g., in a dense urbanarea. The fulfillment center 130 and the customers 140-n are connectedby at least one road 102 (e.g., an avenue, a street, a highway oranother transportation system extending therebetween). As is also shownin FIG. 1A, the customers 140-n are experiencing a predicted demand fora plurality of items (viz., party hats, noisemakers, champagne andglasses) at a certain time (viz., Dec. 31, 2016).

The fulfillment center 130 is a warehouse or other like facility that isadapted to receive, store, process and/or distribute items to customers,including one or more of the items that are in demand among thecustomers 140-n. As is shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, a plurality ofautonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 attend the fulfillment center130, in preparation for loading onto a carrier vehicle 120 (e.g., alarge truck, such as an 18-wheeled tractor-trailer or other likevehicle). Each of the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 is shownas receiving one or more of the items that are predicted to be in demandamong the customers 140-n, and being loaded onto the carrier vehicle120. For example, the autonomous vehicle 150-1 is shown in FIG. 1B asreceiving a plurality of party hats 10-1 in a storage compartment thatis secured by a door (or hatch, or like covering) 153-1. The autonomousvehicle 150-1 has a maximum speed of 3.6 miles per hour (mph) andincludes a battery having a maximum charge of eight ampere-hours (8.0Ah) that is presently charged to seventy-five percent (75%) of capacity.

Likewise, the autonomous vehicle 150-2 is shown in FIG. 1B as receivinga plurality of noisemakers 10-2A, 10-2B (e.g., kazoos, bells, cymbals,horns or other noise-generating devices) in a storage compartment thatis secured by a door 153-2. The autonomous vehicle 150-2 has a maximumspeed of 2.0 miles per hour (mph) and includes a battery having amaximum charge of three-and-one-half ampere-hours (3.5 Ah) that ischarged to eighty-eight percent (88%) of capacity. The autonomousvehicle 150-3 is larger than either the autonomous vehicle 150-1 or150-2, and has a forty-inch (40″) height, a seventy-four-inch (74″)length and a twenty-four-inch (24″) width, and a weight of 40 pounds.The autonomous vehicle 150-3 is shown in FIG. 1B as receiving aplurality of champagne bottles 10-3A in a refrigerated storagecompartment that is secured by a door 153-3A, and a plurality ofchampagne glasses 10-3B in an unrefrigerated storage compartment that issecured by a door 153-3B. The autonomous vehicle 150-3 has a maximumspeed of 3.2 miles per hour (mph) and includes a battery having amaximum charge of fifteen ampere-hours (15 Ah) that is charged tosixty-five percent (65%) of capacity.

As is shown in FIG. 1D, and in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, after the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3have been loaded with the various items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A,10-3B, as is shown in FIG. 1B, and after the autonomous vehicles 150-1,150-2, 150-3 themselves have been loaded into the carrier vehicle 120,as is shown in FIG. 1C, the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B maybe distributed to locations that are closer to one or more of thecustomers 140-n for whom the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B arebelieved to be in demand. For example, as is shown in FIG. 1E, aplurality of regions 145-1, 145-2, 145-3 of predicted demand for one ormore of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B are identified. Inthe region 145-1, the items 10-1 (viz., party hats) are predicted to bein demand. In the region 145-2, the items 10-2A, 10-2B (viz.,noisemakers) are predicted to be in demand. In the region 145-3, theitems 10-3A, 10-3B (viz., champagne and glasses) are predicted to be indemand.

The regions 145-1, 145-2, 145-3 of the predicted demand may beidentified on any basis. In some embodiments, the regions 145-1, 145-2,145-3 of the predicted demand may be identified by resort to informationor data regarding prior purchases of items by residents living in therespective regions, or prior deliveries of items to residents of therespective regions, which may indicate that such items, or substitutesfor or complements to such items, are in demand in such regions. Forexample, where a particular model of smartphone that features a batteryhaving a two-year lifespan for normal operations is popular in aparticular region, demand for accessories for the smartphone such asheadphones or protective cases (e.g., complementary items) may beanticipated concurrently with demand for the smartphone, while demandfor replacements for the smartphone (e.g., substitutable items) may beanticipated in two years, when owners of the smartphone are expected tolook to the market for such replacements. Likewise, the regions 145-1,145-2, 145-3 of the predicted demand may also be identified based onsimilarities to other regions, and the demand for items that waspreviously observed there. For example, when a particular region isexperiencing a lengthy spell of good weather, a national championship bya local sports team, a natural disaster, or other unique event, demandfor items within the region may be identified based on demand for itemsobserved in other regions that recently experienced lengthy spells ofgood weather, national championships, natural disasters, or other suchunique events. Furthermore, the regions 145-1, 145-2, 145-3 of thepredicted demand may be identified by determining information or dataregarding demographics of residents in such regions, and identifyingitems that are in demand to members of such demographics, including notonly members of such demographics who are residents of the regions145-1, 145-2, 145-3 but also other regions. Any means, methods ortechniques for determining demand for a given item, on a local orregional basis, may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the items10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B may be routed to the regions 145-1,145-2, 145-3 where demand for such items is predicted. As is shown inFIG. 1F, a route 125 for the carrier vehicle 120 is shown. The route 125includes locations where the respective autonomous vehicles 150-1,150-2, 150-3 may be dropped off by the carrier vehicle 120. The dropofflocations for each of the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 arewithin or near the respective regions 145-1, 145-2, 145-3 where demandfor the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B within the autonomousvehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 is predicted.

As is shown in FIG. 1G and FIG. 1H, when orders for the purchase of oneor more of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B are received fromcustomers who are located in or around areas including or near theregions 145-1, 145-2, 145-3, or where such items are to be delivered tosuch areas, such orders may be fulfilled using the autonomous groundvehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3. For example, as is shown in FIG. 1G,orders for one or more of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B arereceived from a plurality of customers 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4,140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8, 140-9, 140-10. As is shown in FIG. 1H, asthe orders are received, or at a predetermined time, optimal routes (orshortest routes) to be traveled by each of the respective autonomousvehicles 150-1, 150-1, 150-3 in order to fulfill the respective ordersmay be determined according to one or more algorithms, formulas ortechniques. For example, the autonomous vehicle 150-1 may be instructedto deliver the items 10-1, in series, to the customers 140-1, 140-2,140-3, 140-4, 140-5 along a delivery route 155-1 in order to fulfilleach of the orders placed by such customers. Because each of thecustomers 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5 is located within arelatively short radius (e.g., approximately one to two blocks) of thedropoff location for the autonomous vehicle 150-1, the items 10-1 may bedelivered to the customers 140-1, 140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5 in arelatively short period of time. Similarly, the autonomous vehicle 150-2may be instructed to deliver the items 10-2A, 10-2B, in series, to thecustomers 140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8, 140-1 along a delivery route 155-2in order to fulfill each of the orders placed by such customers.Likewise, the autonomous vehicle 150-3 may be instructed to deliver theitems 10-3A, 10-3B, in series, to the customers 140-8, 140-9, 140-10,140-4 along a delivery route 155-3. Because each of the customers 140-1,140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8 is located within a relatively short radiusof the dropoff location for the autonomous vehicle 150-2, and becauseeach of the customers 140-4, 140-8, 140-9, 140-10 is located within arelatively short radius of the dropoff location for the autonomousvehicle 150-3, the items 10-2A, 10-2B and the items 10-3A, 10-3B may bedelivered to such customers using the autonomous vehicles 150-2, 150-3in relatively short periods of time.

By deploying the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 and the items10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B therein to or within a vicinity of suchregions, orders for one or more of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A,10-3B included within such vehicles may be fulfilled more rapidly andefficiently than if the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B remainedin storage at the fulfillment center 130, such as is shown in FIG. 1D,and if delivery of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B from thefulfillment center 130 to each of the respective customers 140-1, 140-2,140-3, 140-4, 140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8, 140-9, 140-10 were required inorder to fulfill the orders received from such customers.

Additionally, or alternatively, the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2,150-3 may collaborate in the performance of one or more tasks or theexecution of one or more functions, including the delivery of one ormore of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B to customers in thefulfillment of orders. For example, referring again to FIG. 1G and FIG.1H, because the customer 140-4 has ordered one or more of the items 10-1in the autonomous vehicle 150-1, and one or more of the items 10-3A,10-3B in the autonomous vehicle 150-3, the autonomous vehicle 150-1 andthe autonomous vehicle 150-3 may meet at a common location or rendezvouspoint where one or more of the items 10-1 may be transferred from theautonomous vehicle 150-1 into the autonomous vehicle 150-3, or where oneor more of the items 10-3A, 10-3B may be transferred from the autonomousvehicle 150-3 into the autonomous vehicle 150-1, prior to delivering theitems 10-1, 10-3A, 10-3B to the customer 140-4. The determination ofoptimal paths for the delivery of the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A,10-3B may take any intrinsic or extrinsic factor into consideration,including whether and how one or more orders may be fulfilled moreefficiently through collaboration of the autonomous vehicles 150-1,150-2, 150-3. Alternatively, where one or more of the customers 140-1,140-2, 140-3, 140-4, 140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8, 140-9, 140-10, or othercustomers, places orders for items including one or more of the items10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B and other items, the autonomousvehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 may further collaborate with one or morehumans, carrier vehicles, other autonomous vehicles or the like in thefulfillment of such orders. For example, where a customer places anorder for one of the items 10-1 and another item, a carrier vehicle oran autonomous vehicle transporting the other item may meet with theautonomous vehicle 150-1 at a common location or rendezvous point wherethe other item may be transferred to the autonomous vehicle 150-1, orwhere one of the items 10-1 may be received from the autonomous vehicle150-1, prior to fulfilling the order.

After the items are delivered to the customers 140-1, 140-2, 140-3,140-4, 140-5, 140-6, 140-7, 140-8, 140-9, 140-10 in response to theirorders, the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 may perform orexecute any number of other tasks or functions. For example, one or moreof the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 may be configured toretrieve useless or expired items, items that are to be returned to thefulfillment center 130 or to another location, items that are to bediscarded, or wastes generated by such items from one or more residentsin the area. Alternatively, one or more of the autonomous vehicles150-1, 150-2, 150-3 may remain in a standby condition, such as a safe orlightly traveled location, to await further orders for the items 10-1,10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B from customers, or to communicate informationregarding the inventory carried thereon, or any prior travel ordeliveries, to a monitoring system associated with an online marketplaceand/or a fulfillment center. One or more of the autonomous vehicles150-1, 150-2, 150-3 may also explore and evaluate its surroundings,e.g., by capturing information or data such as imaging data, orobtaining information or data from another source (e.g., information ordata captured by an operating aerial vehicle, such as a drone, or asatellite) regarding such surroundings, and may report the capturedinformation or data to a monitoring system or another computer-basedsystem. One or more of the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3 mayfurther request and/or await retrieval by the carrier vehicle 120, or byone or more other vehicles.

Accordingly, some embodiments of the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure are directed to forward-deploying, or otherwise distributing,items into regions where demand for such items is known, or has beenobserved or predicted, by any means, methods or techniques. Theautonomous vehicles (or automated vehicles) of the present disclosuremay be vehicles having any number of wheels mounted to axles that may berotated by one or more motors, with dimensions, masses or otherindicators of size that may be selected on any basis. For example, insome embodiments, such autonomous vehicles may be sized and configuredto travel on roads at various times or during various levels ofcongestion, and at various speeds, e.g., in response to one or morecomputer-based instructions. Alternatively, in other embodiments, anautonomous vehicle may be sized and configured to travel on sidewalks,crosswalks, bicycle paths, trails or the like, and at various speeds. Instill other embodiments, autonomous vehicles may be configured to travelon not only roads but also sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle paths, trailsor the like, at any desired speeds.

Additionally, autonomous vehicles of the present disclosure may includea cargo bay or other storage compartment, or multiple cargo bays orstorage compartments, for storing items that are being delivered from anorigin to a destination. Such cargo bays or storage compartments may beused to securely maintain items therein at any desired temperature,pressure or alignment or orientation, and to protect such items againstthe elements. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the autonomous vehiclesmay include various equipment or components for determining whether acargo bay or other storage compartment is empty or includes one or moreitems, or for identifying specific items that are stored therein, alongwith equipment or components for engaging or interacting with suchitems. The autonomous vehicles may also include one or more displayscreens (e.g., touchscreen displays, scanners, keypads) having one ormore user interfaces for displaying information regarding such vehiclesor their contents to humans, or for receiving interactions (e.g.,instructions) from such humans, or other input/output devices for suchpurposes.

Moreover, the autonomous vehicles of the present disclosure may includeany number of sensors such as position sensors (e.g., Global PositioningSatellite, or GPS, receivers, or cellular transceivers configured totriangulate positions based on signals received from multiple cellulartransmitters), imaging sensors (e.g., digital cameras or other imagingdevices) or other sensors, including but not limited to speedometers,inclinometers, compasses, altimeters, gyroscopes or scanners. Theautonomous vehicles of the present disclosure may also includecommunications equipment (e.g., wired or wireless means forcommunication such as components or systems operating Wireless Fidelity,or WiFi, Bluetooth, near-field communications or cellular technologiesor protocols), along with one or more power modules (e.g., batteries),which may be rechargeable, refuelable or replaceable in nature.Information or data obtained or determined by such sensors or suchcommunications equipment may be utilized in manually or automaticallycontrolling an autonomous vehicle, e.g., in causing the autonomousvehicle to travel along one or more paths or routes, to search foralternate paths or routes, or to avoid expected or unexpected hazardsencountered by the autonomous vehicle while traveling along such pathsor routes. The autonomous vehicles of the present disclosure may furtherinclude any number of computer components (e.g., processors, datastores, transceivers or input/output devices) for performing any of thetasks or executing any of the functions described herein.

Actual or predicted demand for items may be determined on any basis.Once demand in any given region has been determined or predicted, thedemand may be compared to one or more thresholds or limits to determinewhether the demand is sufficiently great, on an actual or relativebasis, in order to justify distributing or forward-deploying items tothe given region. For example, in some embodiments, a total-marketprediction of demand may be determined by defining a market, identifyingdrivers of demand in each of the market, predicting how such drivers maybe anticipated to change, and localizing the effects of such changes toa given region or location. In some other embodiments, a prediction oflocal demand in a region or location may be determined based on priorsales of items in the region or location, and determining whether suchsales are expected to increase, decrease or remain constant. Forexample, where a neighborhood includes a fixed number of homes, demandfor specific items (e.g., diapers, skateboards, soccer balls,wheelchairs) may be determined based on an analysis of demographics(e.g., residents who are of varying ages, genders, ethnicities orreligions), within the neighborhood, as compared to demographics in theneighborhood in previous years, or demographics in other similarlysituated neighborhoods.

In some embodiments, upcoming local, regional, national or global eventsmay be identified, and the demand for items pertaining to such eventsmay be projected generally, or in specific locations or regions. Forexample, referring again to FIGS. 1A through 1H, the items 10-1, 10-2A,10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B are often used by consumers during celebrations orparties, such as those that occur on New Year's Eve, a holidaycelebration that occurs on December 31 each year, and the demand for theitems 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A, 10-3B, is predicted on Dec. 31, 2016.The level of specificity or granularity associated with a projection maybe selected on any basis, including but not limited to buildings,neighborhoods, villages, municipalities, counties or states. In otherembodiments, demand for items in a given region may be determined basedon local laws, regulations or customs in effect within the region.

Autonomous vehicles may be used to distribute items on a local basis inany manner. For example, items may be loaded into and secured withinautonomous vehicles on a homogenous basis, e.g., where an autonomousvehicle includes a common type of item, such as the autonomous vehicle150-1 of FIG. 1B, which includes the items 10-1. Alternatively, itemsmay be loaded into and secured within autonomous vehicles on aheterogeneous basis, e.g., where an autonomous vehicle includes avariety of types of items, such as the autonomous vehicle 150-2 of FIG.1B, which includes both the items 10-2A and the items 10-2B within acommon storage compartment. Items may also be loaded into and securedwithin autonomous vehicles in storage compartments that are specificallytailored for such items, such as the autonomous vehicle 150-3, whichincludes a refrigerated storage compartment for maintaining cold itemstherein, as well as storage compartments that are generally provided formultiple types of items. Alternatively, an autonomous vehicle mayinclude any number of compartments that are configured to maintain itemstherein at any desired temperature (e.g., hot or cold).

Moreover, once items have been loaded into and secured within autonomousvehicles, the autonomous vehicles may be delivered to selected regionsbased on the demand for the items maintained therein on any basis. Forexample, in some embodiments, autonomous vehicles may be configured totravel from a fulfillment center or other facilities within which itemsare maintained to specific regions based on known, observed or predicteddemand for such items, e.g., by traveling on one or more roads,sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle paths, trails or the like, and at variousspeeds, at various times or during various levels of congestion. In someother embodiments, autonomous vehicles may be delivered singly or inbulk to such regions in one or more other vehicles, which may be mannedor unmanned. For example, autonomous vehicles that are loaded with itemsmay be delivered to regions where such items are known, observed orpredicted to be in demand in or by one or more other vehicles that maybe configured to travel in the air, or on land or sea, or within thephysical universe beyond the Earth's atmosphere (e.g., outer space),such as cars, trucks, trailers, freight cars, container ships, cargoaircraft or spacecraft, or other like vehicles. Likewise, autonomousvehicles may be retrieved from such regions by one or more of suchvehicles, and returned to a fulfillment center or other facility, e.g.,for loading, reloading or maintenance, as desired.

In accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure, one ormore of the autonomous vehicles described herein may be utilized toretrieve useless, spent or expired items, or trash, recyclable waste orother waste products generated by such items, from locations where suchitems were used or disposed, or where such items reside. For example,where customers have previously received shipments of milk in glassbottles, vegetables in aluminum or steel cans, or computer products incorrugated cardboard boxes with foam packing, one or more autonomousvehicles may return to locations of such customers, or locations wheresuch items were received and/or consumed, to retrieve not only the glassbottles, the steel cans, the cardboard boxes or the foam, but also anyother items that are no longer of value to such customers, such as anobsolete printer or a dated wireless router that have been replaced by anewly delivered printer or wireless router.

In some other embodiments, autonomous vehicles may be outfitted orconfigured with one or more automated fabricators, e.g., 3D printers,having various types or forms of tooling equipment included therein.Such tooling equipment may include, but is not limited to, one or morefilaments, heads, blades, nozzles, motors, rollers, heat sources,radiation sources or other elements for molding, shaping, forming,curing, solidifying or depositing layers of materials therein andforming such materials into an end product. An autonomous vehicle thatis outfitted or configured with automated fabricators and/or toolingequipment may be loaded with a variety of stock materials, and may beprogrammed to retrieve other raw materials (e.g., the raw materialsthemselves, or one or more items formed from such raw materials, whichmay be processed to extract the raw materials therefrom) from one ormore specified locations. The autonomous vehicles may be programmed orotherwise configured to fabricate a given item, e.g., in response to anorder for the item, and to deliver the item to a predetermined location.In some embodiments, the autonomous vehicles may be fabricated while theautonomous vehicle is en route from a location from which raw materialsor items are retrieved to a location specified in the order.

In some other embodiments, an autonomous vehicle may be configured tocollaborate in the performance of tasks or the execution of functionswith one or more humans, machines or other vehicles, including but notlimited to carrier vehicles or other autonomous vehicles. For example,autonomous vehicles may be configured to transfer items or materials tohumans, machines or other vehicles, or to receive items or materialstherefrom, in order to reduce the total number of entities orinteractions involved in the performance of tasks or the execution offunctions, such as delivering or retrieving one or more items ormaterials, or manufacturing and delivering one or more items from one ormore materials. Autonomous vehicles may be selected for use in theperformance of tasks or the execution of functions on any basis,including but not limited to their respective positions at dates ortimes when such tasks or functions are requested or required, as well astheir dimensions or capacities (e.g., heights, lengths, widths, batterylevels, fuel levels, power ratings, speeds or speed ratings, ranges,carrying volumes or weight limits), weather conditions, operationalhazards, congestion levels or any other relevant intrinsic or extrinsicfactors.

In still other embodiments, an autonomous vehicle may be programmed orotherwise configured to automatically access one or more predeterminedor specified locations, e.g., to automatically deliver a distributeditem to a given location or to retrieve raw materials or items formedtherefrom from the given location. For example, an autonomous vehiclemay be programmed or instructed to automatically open a door or otherentry point at a facility (e.g., a private dwelling or businesslocation), to access a public garage or other parking or standing area,or to activate an indicator within a home, an office or anotherstructure. When an order for an item stored in an autonomous vehicle isreceived, and the order is assigned to the autonomous vehicle forfulfillment, the autonomous vehicle may be configured to transmitwireless codes, signals or other information to trigger a response fromone or more devices or machines equipped with wireless transceivers,such as garage door openers, doorbells, lights, haptic feedback systemsor other machines or devices.

Alternatively, requests or instructions for granting access to locationson behalf of an autonomous vehicle may be transmitted by one or moreexternal computer devices or resources to one or more devices associatedwith structures at the locations, and access to such locations may begranted accordingly. Such requests or instructions may include accesscodes, authenticators, keys, tokens or similar information, which may beused by an autonomous vehicle to obtain access to one or more structuresat a given location. For example, such access codes may be utilized tounlock locked doors or to alert one or more personnel or machines withina structure that an autonomous vehicle has arrived at the structure, orthat the autonomous vehicle is requesting access to the structure. Insome such embodiments, a request or an instruction to grant access to alocation may be transmitted to an intermediary device at the locationthat is configured to receive such requests or instructions, and togrant access to the location. The intermediary device may be programmedwith one or more access codes, passwords, authenticators, keys, tokensor similar information associated with a location, and may grant accessto the location in response to a request or an instruction received froman autonomous vehicle and/or external computer device or resourcewithout divulging such access codes, passwords, authenticators, keys,tokens or similar information to the autonomous vehicle or the computerdevice or resource.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a block diagram of components of onesystem 200 for distributing or retrieving inventory or materials usingautonomous vehicles in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure is shown. The system 200 includes a marketplace 210, acarrier vehicle 220, a fulfillment center 230, a customer 240, aplurality of autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n and avehicle monitoring system 290 that are connected to one another across anetwork 280, which may include the Internet in whole or in part. Exceptwhere otherwise noted, reference numerals preceded by the number “2” inFIG. 2A or FIG. 2B refer to elements that are similar to elements havingreference numerals preceded by the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1A through1H.

The marketplace 210 may be any entity or individual that wishes to makeitems from a variety of sources (e.g., manufacturers, merchants, sellersor vendors) available for download, purchase, rent, lease or borrowingby customers using a networked computer infrastructure, including one ormore physical computer servers 212 and data stores 214 (e.g., databases)for hosting a network site 216. The marketplace 210 may be physically orvirtually associated with one or more storage or distributionfacilities, such as the fulfillment center 230. The network site 216 maybe implemented using the one or more servers 212, which connect orotherwise communicate with the one or more data stores 214 as well asthe network 280, as indicated by line 218, through the sending andreceiving of digital data. Moreover, the data store 214 may include anytype of information regarding items that have been made available forsale through the marketplace 210, or ordered by customers, such as thecustomer 240, from the marketplace 210, or any information or dataregarding the delivery of such items to the customers, e.g., by one ormore of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n.

The fulfillment center 230 may be any facility that is adapted toreceive, store, process and/or distribute items. As is shown in FIG. 2A,the fulfillment center 230 includes a server 232, a data store 234, andone or more computer processors 236. The fulfillment center 230 alsoincludes stations for receiving, storing and distributing items tocustomers, including but not limited to a receiving station 231, astorage area 233 and a distribution station 235.

The server 232 and/or the processors 236 may operate one or more orderprocessing and/or communication systems and/or software applicationshaving one or more user interfaces, or communicate with one or moreother computing devices or machines that may be connected to the network280, as indicated by line 228, for transmitting or receiving informationin the form of digital or analog data, or for any other purpose. Forexample, the server 232 and/or the processors 236 may also operate orprovide access to one or more reporting systems for receiving ordisplaying information or data regarding orders for items received bythe marketplace 210, or deliveries made by one or more of the autonomousground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, and may provide one or moreinterfaces for receiving interactions (e.g., text, numeric entries orselections) from one or more operators, users, workers or other personsin response to such information or data. The server 232, the data store234 and/or the processor 236 may be a general-purpose device or machine,or a dedicated device or machine that features any form of input and/oroutput peripherals such as scanners, readers, keyboards, keypads,touchscreens or like devices, and may further operate or provide accessto one or more engines for analyzing the information or data regardingthe workflow operations, or the interactions received from the one ormore operators, users, workers or persons.

For example, the server 232 and/or the processors 236 may be configuredto determine an optimal path or route between two locations for theexecution of a given mission or task to be executed by the carriervehicle 220 and/or one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n on any basis, such as according to one or moretraditional shortest path or shortest route algorithms such asDijkstra's Algorithm, Bellman-Ford Algorithm, Floyd-Warshall Algorithm,Johnson's Algorithm or a hub labeling technique. Additionally, theserver 232 and/or the processors 236 may be configured to control ordirect, or to recommend or suggest, collaboration between or among oneor more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n andone or more other vehicles, e.g., the carrier vehicle 220, in theperformance of one or more tasks or in the execution of one or morefunctions. For example, the server 232 and/or the processors 236 may beconfigured to identify levels of inventory distributed among one or moreof the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, or aboardother vehicles or in other locations, and to identify an optimal path tobe traveled in order to obtain each of the items included in an orderand to deliver such items to a customer or other destination.Additionally, the server 232 and/or the processor 236 may determinewhich of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n isappropriately equipped to perform specific steps of a manufacturing orproduction process, based on any tooling equipment or materialsinstalled or loaded thereon, amounts or types of items or materials thatmay be available nearby, proximity to one or more other autonomousvehicles, carrier vehicles or other vehicles, as well as a givendestination or other location, or on any other relevant factor or basis.The server 232 and/or the processor 236 may identify appropriatelocations or rendezvous points where one or more humans, vehicles orother machines may meet in order to transfer inventory or materialstherebetween, or for any other purpose.

The receiving station 231 may include any apparatuses that may berequired in order to receive shipments of items at the fulfillmentcenter 230 from one or more sources and/or through one or more channels,including but not limited to docks, lifts, cranes, jacks, belts or otherconveying apparatuses for obtaining items and/or shipments of items fromcarriers such as cars, trucks, trailers, freight cars, container shipsor cargo aircraft (e.g., manned aircraft or unmanned aircraft, such asdrones), as well as one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n or the carrier vehicle 220, and preparing such itemsfor storage or distribution to customers. The storage area 233 mayinclude one or more predefined two-dimensional or three-dimensionalspaces for accommodating items and/or containers of such items, such asaisles, rows, bays, shelves, slots, bins, racks, tiers, bars, hooks,cubbies or other like storage means, or any other appropriate regions orstations. The distribution station 235 may include one or more regionsor stations where items that have been retrieved from a designatedstorage area may be evaluated, prepared and packed for delivery from thefulfillment center 230 to locations or destinations specified bycustomers, e.g., by way of one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, the carrier vehicle 220, or any other vehicleof any type, e.g., cars, trucks, trailers, freight cars, container shipsor cargo aircraft (e.g., manned aircraft or unmanned aircraft, such asdrones). Such locations or destinations may include, but are not limitedto, facilities having specific addresses or other geocoded identifiers(e.g., dwellings or businesses), as well as storage lockers or othertemporary storage or receiving facilities. Those of ordinary skill inthe pertinent art will recognize that shipments of items arriving at thereceiving station 231 may be processed, and the items placed intostorage within the storage areas 233 or, alternatively, transferreddirectly to the distribution station 235, or “cross-docked,” for promptdelivery to one or more customers.

The fulfillment center 230 may further include one or more controlsystems that may generate instructions for conducting operations at oneor more of the receiving station 231, the storage area 233 or thedistribution station 235. Such control systems may be associated withthe server 232, the data store 234 and/or the processor 236, or with oneor more other computing devices or machines, and may communicate withthe receiving station 231, the storage area 233 or the distributionstation 235 within the fulfillment center 230 by any known wired orwireless means, or with the marketplace 210, the customer 240 or one ormore of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n over thenetwork 280, as indicated by line 238, through the sending and receivingof digital data.

Additionally, the fulfillment center 230 may include one or more systemsor devices (not shown in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B) for determining locationsof one or more elements therein, such as cameras or other imagerecording devices. Furthermore, the fulfillment center 230 may alsoinclude one or more workers or staff members (not shown in FIG. 2A orFIG. 2B), who may handle or transport items within the fulfillmentcenter 230. Such workers may operate one or more computing devices ormachines for registering the receipt, retrieval, transportation orstorage of items within the fulfillment center, or a general-purposedevice such a personal digital assistant, a digital media player, asmartphone, a tablet computer, a desktop computer or a laptop computer,and may include any form of input and/or output peripherals such asscanners, readers, keyboards, keypads, touchscreens or like devices.

The customer 240 may be any entity or individual that wishes todownload, purchase, rent, lease, borrow or otherwise obtain items (whichmay include goods, products, services or information of any type orform) from the marketplace 210, e.g., for delivery by one or more of theautonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n. The customer 240may utilize one or more computing devices 242 (e.g., a smartphone, atablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or computingdevices provided in wristwatches, televisions, set-top boxes,automobiles or any other appliances or machines), or any other likemachine, that may operate or access one or more software applications244, such as a web browser or a shopping application, and may beconnected to or otherwise communicate with the marketplace 210, thefulfillment center 230 or the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 .. . 250-n through the network 280, as indicated by line 248, by thetransmission and receipt of digital data.

The autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may be any typeor form of self-powered vehicle capable of being programmed or otherwiseconfigured for autonomous travel between two points of along one or morepaths or routes, in furtherance of the performance of one or moremissions or tasks, such as the delivery of an item from the fulfillmentcenter 230 to the customer 240, based on one or more computerinstructions. For example, one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may be configured to determine an optimal pathor route between two locations for the execution of a given mission ortask on any basis, such as according to one or more traditional shortestpath or shortest route algorithms such as Dijkstra's Algorithm,Bellman-Ford Algorithm, Floyd-Warshall Algorithm, Johnson's Algorithm ora hub labeling technique. Such optimal paths our routes may, in someembodiments, include one or more common locations or rendezvous pointswhere an item or materials may be transferred between or among theautonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, or one or morehumans, machines or other vehicles. Likewise, one or more of theautonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may be configured todetermine whether an item may be manufactured or produced thereby,either using stock materials carried thereon, or any items, wasteproducts generated by such items, or remnants or scraps of such itemsthat may be located nearby, independently or in concert with one or moreother autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n.

In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n may be configured to distribute, or forward-deploy, inventory fromthe fulfillment center 230 to regions where demand for items is known,observed or predicted, in anticipation of one or more orders for suchitems, and to fulfill such orders. The autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n may be configured to transport items from thefulfillment center 230 to such regions autonomously, or within thecarrier vehicle 220, or by any other means. In some other embodiments,the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may beconfigured to return to the fulfillment center 230 after fulfillingorders for some or all of the items carried thereby, e.g., by travelingto the fulfillment center 230 autonomously, or within the carriervehicle 220, or by any other means.

In some other embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 .. . 250-n may be configured to retrieve items that are unwanted or nolonger usable, items that contain materials of value and/or that may beused to manufacture or produce one or more other items, e.g., wasteproducts generated by such items, or remnants or scraps of such items,and to deliver such items or materials to another location. In someother embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n may be equipped with one or more machines, such as the automatedfabricator 255-i, e.g., a 3D printer, or any type or form of toolingequipment, to manufacture or produce items from stock materials, or fromother materials (e.g., waste products generated by items, or remnants orscraps of items) retrieved by the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n, while the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . .. 250-n are en route from one or more destinations where such stockmaterials or other materials may be obtained to a destination where oneor more of the manufactured or produced items is desired, e.g., adestination specified by a customer, such as the customer 240.

Each of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n shown inFIG. 2A, which are represented in FIG. 2B as an autonomous groundvehicle 250-i, may include one or more computer components such as aprocessor 252-i, a memory 254-i and a transceiver 256-i in communicationwith one or more other computer devices that may be connected to thenetwork 280, as indicated by line 258-i, in order to transmit or receiveinformation in the form of digital or analog data, or for any otherpurpose. For example, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i may receiveinstructions or other information or data via the transceiver 256-iregarding an item that is to be delivered from the fulfillment center230 to the customer 240 via one or more paths or routes from themarketplace server 212, the fulfillment center server 232 and/or thecustomer computing device 242, or from any other computing device overthe network 280. The transceiver 256-i may be configured to enable theautonomous ground vehicle 250-i to communicate through one or more wiredor wireless means, e.g., wired technologies such as Universal Serial Bus(or “USB”) or fiber optic cable, or standard wireless protocols such asBluetooth® or any Wireless Fidelity (or “WiFi”) protocol, such as overthe network 280 or directly.

The transceiver 256-i may further include or be in communication withone or more input/output (or “I/O”) interfaces, network interfacesand/or input/output devices, and may be configured to allow informationor data to be exchanged between one or more of the components of theautonomous ground vehicle 250-i, or to one or more other computerdevices or systems (e.g., other aerial vehicles, not shown) via thenetwork 280. For example, in some embodiments, the transceiver 256-i maybe configured to coordinate I/O traffic between the processor 252-i andone or more onboard or external computer devices or components. Thetransceiver 256-i may perform any necessary protocol, timing or otherdata transformations in order to convert data signals from a firstformat suitable for use by one component into a second format suitablefor use by another component. In some embodiments, the transceiver 256-imay include support for devices attached through various types ofperipheral buses, e.g., variants of the Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB)standard. In some other embodiments, functions of the transceiver 256-imay be split into two or more separate components, or incorporateddirectly into the processor 252-i.

As is shown in FIG. 2B, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i includes anautomated fabricator 255-i having tooling equipment 265-i and havingaccess to one or more materials 275-i. As is also shown in FIG. 2B, theautonomous ground vehicle 250-i also includes one or more controlsystems 260-i, as well as one or more sensors 262-i, one or more powermodules 264-i, one or more navigation modules 266-i, and one or moreuser interfaces 268-i. As is also shown in FIG. 2B, the autonomousground vehicle 250-i further includes one or more control systems 260-i,as well as one or more sensors 262-i, one or more power modules 264-i,one or more navigation modules 266-i, and one or more user interfaces268-i. Additionally, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i furtherincludes one or more motors 270-i, one or more steering systems 272-iand one or more item engagement systems (or devices) 274-i.

The control system 260-i may include one or more software applicationsor hardware components configured for controlling or monitoringoperations of one or more components such as the automated fabricator255-i, the sensor 262-i, the power module 264-i, the navigation module266-i, or the user interfaces 268-i, as well as the motors 270-i, thesteering systems 272-i and the item engagement systems 274-i, e.g., byreceiving, generating, storing and/or transmitting one or more computerinstructions to such components. The control system 260-i maycommunicate with the marketplace 210, the fulfillment center 230 and/orthe customer 240 over the network 280, as indicated by line 258-i,through the sending and receiving of digital data.

The sensor 262-i may be a position sensor such as a GPS receiver incommunication with one or more orbiting satellites or other componentsof a GPS system 285, or any other device or component for determininggeolocations (e.g., geospatially-referenced point that precisely definesan exact location in space with one or more geocodes, such as a set ofgeographic coordinates, e.g., a latitude and a longitude, and,optionally, an elevation that may be ascertained from signals (e.g.,trilateration data or information) or geographic information system (or“GIS”) data), of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i. Geolocations ofthe sensor 262-i may be associated with the autonomous ground vehicle250-i, where appropriate.

The sensor 262-i may also be an imaging device including any form ofoptical recording sensor or device (e.g., digital cameras, depth sensorsor range cameras, infrared cameras, radiographic cameras or otheroptical sensors) that may be configured to photograph or otherwisecapture visual information or data (e.g., still or moving images incolor or black and white that may be captured at any frame rates, ordepth imaging data such as ranges), or associated audio information ordata, or metadata, regarding objects or activities occurring within avicinity of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i, or for any otherpurpose. For example, the sensor 262-i may be configured to capture ordetect reflected light if the reflected light is within a field of viewof the sensor 262-i, which is defined as a function of a distancebetween an imaging sensor and a lens within the sensor 262-i, viz., afocal length, as well as a location of the sensor 262-i and an angularorientation of the lens. Accordingly, where an object appears within adepth of field, or a distance within the field of view where the clarityand focus is sufficiently sharp, the sensor 262-i may capture light thatis reflected off objects of any kind to a sufficiently high degree ofresolution using one or more sensors thereof, and store informationregarding the reflected light in one or more data files.

The sensor 262-i may also include manual or automatic features formodifying a field of view or orientation. For example, the sensor 262-imay be a digital camera configured in a fixed position, or with a fixedfocal length (e.g., fixed-focus lenses) or angular orientation.Alternatively, the sensor 262-i may include one or more actuated ormotorized features for adjusting a position of the sensor 262-i, or foradjusting either the focal length (e.g., zooming the imaging device) orthe angular orientation (e.g., the roll angle, the pitch angle or theyaw angle), by causing a change in the distance between the imagingsensor and the lens (e.g., optical zoom lenses or digital zoom lenses),a change in the location of the sensor 262-i, or a change in one or moreof the angles defining the angular orientation of the sensor 262-i.

For example, the sensor 262-i may be an imaging device that ishard-mounted to a support or mounting that maintains the imaging devicein a fixed configuration or angle with respect to one, two or threeaxes. Alternatively, however, the sensor 262-i may be provided with oneor more motors and/or controllers for manually or automaticallyoperating one or more of the components, or for reorienting the axis ordirection of the sensor 262-i, i.e., by panning or tilting the sensor262-i. Panning the sensor 262-i may cause a rotation within a horizontalplane or about a vertical axis (e.g., a yaw), while tilting the sensor262-i may cause a rotation within a vertical plane or about a horizontalaxis (e.g., a pitch). Additionally, the sensor 262-i may be rolled, orrotated about its axis of rotation, and within a plane that isperpendicular to the axis of rotation and substantially parallel to afield of view of the sensor 262-i.

Imaging data (e.g., still or moving images, as well as associated audiodata or metadata) captured using the sensor 262-i may be processedaccording to any number of recognition techniques. In some embodiments,edges, contours, outlines, colors, textures, silhouettes, shapes orother characteristics of objects, or portions of objects, expressed instill or moving digital images may be identified using one or morealgorithms or machine-learning tools. The objects or portions of objectsmay be stationary or in motion, and may be identified at single, finiteperiods of time, or over one or more periods or durations. Suchalgorithms or tools may be directed to recognizing and markingtransitions (e.g., the edges, contours, outlines, colors, textures,silhouettes, shapes or other characteristics of objects or portionsthereof) within the digital images as closely as possible, and in amanner that minimizes noise and disruptions, and does not create falsetransitions. Some detection algorithms or techniques that may beutilized in order to recognize characteristics of objects or portionsthereof in digital images in accordance with the present disclosureinclude, but are not limited to, Canny edge detectors or algorithms;Sobel operators, algorithms or filters; Kayyali operators; Roberts edgedetection algorithms; Prewitt operators; Frei-Chen methods; or any otheralgorithms or techniques that may be known to those of ordinary skill inthe pertinent arts.

The sensor 262-i may further be one or more compasses, speedometers,altimeters, thermometers, barometers, hygrometers, gyroscopes, airmonitoring sensors (e.g., oxygen, ozone, hydrogen, carbon monoxide orcarbon dioxide sensors), ozone monitors, pH sensors, magnetic anomalydetectors, metal detectors, radiation sensors (e.g., Geiger counters,neutron detectors, alpha detectors), accelerometers, ranging sensors(e.g., radar or LIDAR ranging sensors) or sound sensors (e.g.,microphones, piezoelectric sensors, vibration sensors or othertransducers for detecting and recording acoustic energy from one or moredirections).

The sensor 262-i may also be an item identification sensor, and mayinclude a bar code scanner, a radiofrequency identification (or RFID)reader, or other technology that is utilized to determine anidentification of an item that is being retrieved or deposited, or hasbeen retrieved or deposited, by the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i. Insome embodiments, the sensor 262-i may be provided within a cargo bay orother storage component of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i, such asa presence detection sensor and/or a motion sensor for detecting thepresence or absence of one or more objects within the cargo bay orstorage compartment, or movement of objects therein.

The sensor 262-i may be further configured to capture, record and/oranalyze information or data regarding its positions, velocities,accelerations or orientations of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i,and to analyze such data or information by one or more means, e.g., byaggregating or summing such data or information to form one or morequalitative or quantitative metrics of the movement of the sensor 262-i.For example, a net vector indicative of any and all relevant movementsof the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i, including but not limited tophysical positions, velocities, accelerations or orientations of thesensor 262-i, may be derived. Additionally, coefficients or scalarsindicative of the relative movements of the autonomous ground vehicle250-i may also be defined.

The power module 264-i may be any type of power source for providingelectrical power, mechanical power or other forms of power in support ofone or more electrical or mechanical loads aboard the autonomous groundvehicle 250-i. In some embodiments, the power module 264-i may includeone or more batteries or other power cells, e.g., dry cell or wet cellbatteries such as lead-acid batteries, lithium ion batteries, nickelcadmium batteries or nickel metal hydride batteries, or any other type,size or form of batteries. The power module 264-i may each have any cellvoltages, peak load currents, charge times, specific energies, internalresistances or cycle lives, or other power ratings. The power module264-i may also be any type, size or form of other power source, e.g.,other than a battery, including but not limited to or more fuel cells,turbines, solar cells or nuclear reactors. Alternatively, the powermodule 264-i may be another form of prime mover (e.g., electric,gasoline-powered or any other type of motor) capable of generatingsufficient mechanical forces for the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i.

The navigation module 266-i may include one or more softwareapplications or hardware components including or having access toinformation or data regarding aspects of transportation systems within agiven region, including the locations, dimensions, capacities,conditions, statuses or other attributes of various paths or routes inthe region. For example, the navigation module 266-i may receive inputsfrom the sensor 262-i, e.g., from a GPS receiver, an imaging device oranother sensor, and determine an optimal direction and/or an optimalspeed of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i for travelling on a givenpath or route based on such inputs. The navigation module 266-i mayselect a path or route to be traveled upon by the autonomous groundvehicle 250-i, and may provide information or data regarding theselected path or route to the control system 260-i.

The user interface 268-i may be configured to receive and provideinformation to human users of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i andmay include, but is not limited to, a display, (e.g., a touch-screendisplay), a scanner, a keypad, a biometric scanner, an audio transducer,one or more speakers, one or more imaging devices such as a videocamera, and any other types of input or output devices that may supportinteraction between the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i and a humanuser. In various embodiments, the user interface 268-i may include avariety of different features. For example, in one embodiment, the userinterface 268-i may include a relatively small display and/or a keypadfor receiving inputs from human users. In other embodiments, inputs forcontrolling the operation of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i may beprovided remotely. For example, in order to access a storagecompartment, a human user may send a text message to or reply to a textmessage from the control system 260-i and request that a door or otheraccess portal be opened in order to enable the user to access an itemtherein. In various implementations, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-imay have capabilities for directly receiving such signals from a userdevice or other device (e.g., a device inside a user's residence) thatprovides a signal to open the storage compartment door.

The motor 270-i may be any type or form of motor or engine (e.g.,electric, gasoline-powered or any other type of motor) that is capableof providing sufficient rotational forces to one or more axles, shaftsand/or wheels for causing the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i and anyitems therein to travel in a desired direction and at a desired speed.In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i may include oneor more electric motors having any number of stators, poles and/orwindings, such as an outrunner or an inrunner brushless direct current(DC) motor, or any other motors, having any speed rating, power ratingor any other rating.

The steering system 272-i may be any system for controlling a directionof travel of the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i. The steering system272-i may include any number of automatically operable gears (e.g.,racks and pinions), gear boxes, shafts, shaft assemblies, joints,servos, hydraulic cylinders, linkages or other features forrepositioning one or more wheels to cause the autonomous ground vehicle250-i to travel in a desired direction.

The item engagement system 274-i may be any mechanical component, e.g.,a robotic arm, for engaging an item or for disengaging the item, asdesired. For example, when the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i is taskedwith delivering items or materials from an origin to a destination, theitem engagement system 274-i may be used to engage the items ormaterials at the origin and to deposit the items or materials in a cargobay or other storage compartment prior to departing. After theautonomous ground vehicle 250-i arrives at the destination, the itemengagement system 274-i may be used to retrieve the items or materialswithin the cargo bay or storage compartment, and deposit the items ormaterials in a desired location at the destination.

The automated fabricator 255-i may be a 3D printer or any other deviceor component for automatically forming an end product according to oneor more sets of computer instructions. As is shown in FIG. 2B, theautomated fabricator 255-i includes tooling equipment 265-i and aplurality of materials 275-i. The tooling equipment 265-i may includeany machines or components for manipulating the raw materials 275-iwithin the automated fabricator 255-i to form the end product therefrom.The automated fabricator 255-i may comprise any number of computerprocessors, data stores, memory components or communications equipmentfor controlling the operation of the tooling equipment 265-i orreceiving instructions for the operation thereof.

For example, in some embodiments, the tooling equipment 265-i mayinclude one or more filaments, heads, blades, nozzles, motors, rollers,heat sources, radiation sources or other elements for molding, shaping,forming, curing, solidifying or depositing layers of one or more of thematerials 275-i, or otherwise manipulating the materials 275-i, andforming an end product therefrom.

The materials 275-i may include any liquid, gaseous or solid materialsthat may be accessible to the tooling equipment 265-i and molded,shaped, formed, cured, solidified or deposited into an end product. Forexample, the materials 275-i may be maintained or stored in one or morevats, vessels, tanks, bins, platforms or other storage spaces that arewithin a chamber of the automated fabricator 255-i, or of the autonomousground vehicle 250-i, or accessible thereto. In some embodiments, thematerials 275-i may include thermoplastic materials including but notlimited to acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, nylon, high densitypolyethylene, polycarbonate, polyetherimide, polyether ether ketone,polylactic acid, poly(meth)acrylate, polyphenylene sulphone,polystyrene, as well as one or more polymers, copolymers or ionomersthereof, or combinations of any of such materials. In some embodiments,the materials 275-i may include aluminum, antimony, barium, bismuth,cesium, gold, lead, iodine, steel, tantalum, tin or tungsten, or one ormore oxides, nitrides or alloys thereof. In some embodiments, thematerials 275-i may include not only liquids, gases or solids but alsogels, resins, plasmas or any other types or classes of materials.

The materials 275-i may include both stock materials, or materials thathave not yet been processed or formed into an end product, and areloaded onto the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i for the purpose ofultimately being formed into one or more end products. Additionally, thematerials 275-i may include materials extracted from items retrieved bythe autonomous ground vehicle 250-i.

In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i may beprogrammed or configured to perform one or more missions or tasks in anintegrated manner. For example, the control system 260-i may beprogrammed to instruct the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i to travel toan origin, e.g., the fulfillment center 230, and to begin theperformance of a task there, such as by retrieving an item at the originusing the item engagement system 274-i, before proceeding to adestination, e.g., the customer 240, along a selected route (e.g., anoptimal route). Along the way, the control system 260-i may cause themotor 270-i to operate at any predetermined speed and cause the steeringsystem 272-i to orient the autonomous ground vehicle 250-i in apredetermined direction or otherwise as necessary to travel along theselected route, e.g., based on information or data received from orstored in the navigation module 266-i. The control system 260-i mayfurther cause the sensor 262-i to capture information or data (includingbut not limited to imaging data) regarding the autonomous ground vehicle250-i and/or its surroundings along the selected route. The controlsystem 260-i or one or more other components of the autonomous groundvehicle 250-i may be programmed or configured as necessary in order toexecute any actions associated with a given task, in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

Any combination of networks or communications protocols may be utilizedin accordance with the systems and methods of the present disclosure.For example, each of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n may be configured to communicate with one another or with themarketplace server 212, the fulfillment center server 232 and/or thecustomer computer 242 via the network 280, such as is shown in FIGS. 2Aand 2B, e.g., via an open or standard protocol such as WiFi.Alternatively, each of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n may be configured to communicate with one another directly outsideof a centralized network, such as the network 280, e.g., by a wirelessprotocol such as Bluetooth, in which two or more of the autonomousground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may be paired with one another.

The carrier vehicle 220 may be any type or form of vehicle or systemthat is configured to transport one or more of the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n from one location to one or more otherlocations. In some embodiments, the carrier vehicle 220 may carryinventory of one or more items therein, and may be used to increase thenumber of items stored within the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n or to replace one or more items therein. Additionally,the carrier vehicle 220 may further include any equipment, material orsupplies for maintaining the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . .. 250-n in good and serviceable conditions, including equipment,material or supplies for charging batteries, replacing tires, repairingdamage or any other relevant operations on the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n.

The carrier vehicle 220 may be configured to transport one or more ofthe autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n from thefulfillment center 230 to locations where demand for one or more itemscontained in the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n isknown, observed or predicted, or to retrieve one or more of theautonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n from such locations.For example, the carrier vehicle 220 may be configured to determine anoptimal path or route between two locations for the execution of a givenmission or task on any basis, such as according to one or moretraditional shortest path or shortest route algorithms such asDijkstra's Algorithm, Bellman-Ford Algorithm, Floyd-Warshall Algorithm,Johnson's Algorithm or a hub labeling technique. The carrier vehicle 220may be further configured to control or direct the operations of one ormore of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, such asby identifying materials or tooling equipment that may be available toone or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n,or by determining which of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 .. . 250-n is best suited to perform a given task or execute a givenfunction, as well as one or more paths to be traveled by the autonomousground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n between two or more locationswhile performing the task or executing the function.

In some embodiments, the carrier vehicle 220 may be any type of carriersuch as a car, a truck, a trailer, a freight car and/or locomotive, acontainer ship, a cargo aircraft (e.g., manned aircraft or unmannedaircraft, such as drones), a spacecraft or any other vehicle. In someembodiments, the carrier vehicle 220 may be an autonomous groundvehicle, such as one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n, that is sufficiently large, durable and capable oftransporting another autonomous ground vehicles, such as one or more ofthe autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n. The carriervehicle 220 may include any type or form of component for safelyaccommodating an autonomous ground vehicle therein, including one ormore straps, latches, brackets, tie-down devices, restraints, or likefeatures. The carrier vehicle 220 may further include one or more of theoperational components or systems described above with regard to theautonomous ground vehicle 250-i of FIG. 2B, including but not limited tocomputer processors, memory components, transceivers, sensors, powermodules, navigation systems, control systems, user interfaces, motors,steering components or item engagement systems, and may be configured tocommunicate over the network 280 through the sending and receiving ofdigital data.

The vehicle monitoring system 290 includes one or more physical computerservers 292 having a plurality of databases 294 associated therewith, aswell as one or more computer processors 296 provided for any specific orgeneral purpose. The servers 292 may be connected to or otherwisecommunicate with the databases 294 and the processors 296. The databases294 may store any type of information or data, including but not limitedto acoustic signals, information or data relating to acoustic signals,or information or data regarding personnel and/or their attributes,interests or preferences, for any purpose. The servers 292 and/or thecomputer processors 296 may also connect to or otherwise communicatewith the network 280, as indicated by line 298, through the sending andreceiving of digital data. For example, the vehicle monitoring system290 may include any facilities, stations or locations having the abilityor capacity to receive and store information or data in one or more datastores, e.g., data files received from any of the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n, one or more other external computersystems (not shown) via the network 280. In some embodiments, the dataprocessing system 290 may be provided in a physical location. In othersuch embodiments, the data processing system 290 may be provided in oneor more alternate or virtual locations, e.g., in a “cloud”-basedenvironment. In still other embodiments, the vehicle monitoring system290 may be provided onboard one or more of the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n.

For example, the vehicle monitoring system 290 of FIG. 2 may beindependently provided for the purpose of determining or predicting thedemand for items in one or more locations, or comparing the demand to apredetermined threshold or limit, as well as distances between locationsof known, observed or predicted demand and locations where such itemsare stored, e.g., a location of the fulfillment center 230, locations ofone or more autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n havingitems stored therein, or locations of carrier vehicles, such as thecarrier vehicle 220, transporting such autonomous ground vehicles 250-1,250-2 . . . 250-n therein. The vehicle monitoring system 290 may also beprovided for the purpose of determining the type of form of materialsthat may be available in one or more locations, e.g., locations ofitems, waste products generated by items, or remnants or scraps ofitems, and may be retrieved therefrom. The vehicle monitoring system 290may also be provided for the purpose of determining whether one or moreof the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n may retrievesuch items or materials, or is adequately configured or outfitted, e.g.,with the automated fabricator 255-i or with the tooling equipment 265-i,to manufacture or produce one or more items from such items ormaterials, e.g., in response to an order, and to deliver themanufactured or produced item to a specific location. The vehiclemonitoring system 290 may also be provided for the purpose ofdetermining one or more access codes or rights for accessing a locationsuch as a home, an office, a parking structure or another facility, orto trigger or initiate an indicator within such facilities.

In some embodiments, the vehicle monitoring system 290 of FIG. 2 mayalso be provided for the purpose of receiving, tracking and/or otherwisemonitoring the operations of one or more of the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the carrier vehicle 220, includingbut not limited to any information or data regarding attributes of theautonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the carriervehicle 220, or missions or tasks being performed by the autonomousground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the carrier vehicle 220, aswell as environmental conditions, traffic conditions, ground or surfaceconditions, weather conditions, planned or ongoing construction or otherevents, or any other factors that may affect the capacity of one or morepaths or routes within areas in which such autonomous ground vehicles250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n are operating or have operated.

The vehicle monitoring system 290 may also be configured to determine anoptimal path or route between two locations for the execution of a givenmission or task on any basis, such as according to one or moretraditional shortest path or shortest route algorithms such asDijkstra's Algorithm, Bellman-Ford Algorithm, Floyd-Warshall Algorithm,Johnson's Algorithm or a hub labeling technique. The vehicle monitoringsystem 290 may also be configured to determine whether a route beingtraveled by one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 .. . 250-n or the carrier vehicle 220 is optimal or preferred for a givenmission or task, or to communicate instructions for varying the route tothe autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the carriervehicle 220. The vehicle monitoring system 290 may also be configured tocontrol or direct the operations of one or more of the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the carrier vehicle 220, such as byidentifying materials or tooling equipment that may be available to oneor more of the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n orthe carrier vehicle 220, or by determining which of the autonomousground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n is best suited to perform agiven task or execute a given function, as well as one or more paths tobe traveled by the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-nor the carrier vehicle 220 between two or more locations whileperforming the task or executing the function. The vehicle monitoringsystem 290 may further utilize any available information or data indetermining a capacity of a given path or route, or whether suchcapacity may have increased or decreased. The number and/or type ofinformation or data that may be received and/or processed or utilized bythe vehicle monitoring system 290 are not limited.

The computers, servers, devices and the like described herein have thenecessary electronics, software, memory, storage, databases, firmware,logic/state machines, microprocessors, communication links, displays orother visual or audio user interfaces, printing devices, and any otherinput/output interfaces to provide any of the functions or servicesdescribed herein and/or achieve the results described herein. Also,those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art will recognize that usersof such computers, servers, devices and the like may operate a keyboard,keypad, mouse, stylus, touch screen, or other device (not shown) ormethod to interact with the computers, servers, devices and the like, orto “select” an item, link, node, hub or any other aspect of the presentdisclosure.

Those of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts will understand thatprocess steps described herein as being performed by a “marketplace,” a“fulfillment center” a “customer,” an “autonomous vehicle” (or“autonomous ground vehicle”), a “vehicle monitoring system” or liketerms, may be automated steps performed by their respective computersystems, or implemented within software modules (or computer programs)executed by one or more general purpose computers. Moreover, processsteps described as being performed by a “marketplace,” a “fulfillmentcenter,” a “customer,” an “autonomous vehicle” or a “vehicle monitoringsystem” may be typically performed by a human operator, but could,alternatively, be performed by an automated agent.

The marketplace 210, the carrier vehicle 220, the fulfillment center230, the customer 240, the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n or the vehicle monitoring system 290 may use any web-enabled orInternet applications or features, or any other client-serverapplications or features including electronic mail (or E-mail), or othermessaging techniques, to connect to the network 280 or to communicatewith one another, such as through short or multimedia messaging service(SMS or MMS) text messages, social network messages, online marketplacemessages, telephone calls or the like. For example, the fulfillmentcenter 230 and/or the server 232 may be adapted to transmit informationor data in the form of synchronous or asynchronous messages to themarketplace 210 and/or the server 212, the carrier vehicle 220, thecustomer 240 and/or the computing device 242, the autonomous groundvehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n and/or the control system 260-i or thevehicle monitoring system 290, or any other computer device in real timeor in near-real time, or in one or more offline processes, via thenetwork 280. Those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art wouldrecognize that the marketplace 210, the carrier vehicle 220, thefulfillment center 230, the customer 240, the autonomous ground vehicles250-1, 250-2 . . . 250-n or the vehicle monitoring system 290 mayoperate any of a number of computing devices that are capable ofcommunicating over the network, including but not limited to set-topboxes, personal digital assistants, digital media players, web pads,laptop computers, desktop computers, electronic book readers, and thelike. The protocols and components for providing communication betweensuch devices are well known to those skilled in the art of computercommunications and need not be described in more detail herein.

The data and/or computer executable instructions, programs, firmware,software and the like (also referred to herein as “computer executable”components) described herein may be stored on a computer-readable mediumthat is within or accessible by computers or computer components such asthe servers 212, 232, 292, the computing devices 242, the processors252-i, 296, or any other computers or control systems utilized by themarketplace 210, the carrier vehicle 220, the fulfillment center 230,the customer 240, the autonomous ground vehicles 250-1, 250-2 . . .250-n, the vehicle monitoring system 290, and having sequences ofinstructions which, when executed by a processor (e.g., a centralprocessing unit, or “CPU”), cause the processor to perform all or aportion of the functions, services and/or methods described herein. Suchcomputer executable instructions, programs, software and the like may beloaded into the memory of one or more computers using a drive mechanismassociated with the computer readable medium, such as a floppy drive,CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive, network interface, or the like, or viaexternal connections.

Some embodiments of the systems and methods of the present disclosuremay also be provided as a computer executable program product includinga non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereoninstructions (in compressed or uncompressed form) that may be used toprogram a computer (or other electronic device) to perform processes ormethods described herein. The machine-readable storage medium mayinclude, but is not limited to, hard drives, floppy diskettes, opticaldisks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, ROMs, RAMs, erasable programmable ROMs (“EPROM”),electrically erasable programmable ROMs (“EEPROM”), flash memory,magnetic or optical cards, solid-state memory devices, or other types ofmedia/machine-readable medium that may be suitable for storingelectronic instructions. Further, embodiments may also be provided as acomputer executable program product that includes a transitorymachine-readable signal (in compressed or uncompressed form). Examplesof machine-readable signals, whether modulated using a carrier or not,may include, but are not limited to, signals that a computer system ormachine hosting or running a computer program can be configured toaccess, or including signals that may be downloaded through the Internetor other networks.

As is discussed above, in some embodiments, the systems and methods ofthe present disclosure may be used to distribute, or forward-deploy,inventory from one location to another location where demand for suchitems is known, observed or predicted, using one or more autonomousground vehicles. Referring to FIG. 3, a flow chart 300 of one processfor distributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure isshown. At box 310, inventory of items is forward-deployed from afulfillment center to one or more specific regions via a plurality ofautonomous ground vehicle units. For example, referring again to FIG.1B, one or more items, such as the items 10-1, 10-2A, 10-2B, 10-3A,10-3B, may be loaded into storage compartments or other areas ofautonomous vehicles, e.g., the autonomous vehicles 150-1, 150-2, 150-3,and secured therein. The autonomous ground vehicle units may then travelfrom the fulfillment center to one or more other locations, eitherindependently or autonomously, by one or more carrier vehicles, or byany other means.

At box 320, a regional demand for the plurality of items is predicted onany basis. For example, the regional demand for the items may bedetermined based on prior purchasing histories of customers in specificregions, or demographics to which such customers belong. The regionaldemand may also be predicted based on attributes of the respectiveitems, any upcoming events occurring at the local, regional, national orglobal events levels, or any traditional, prevailing or emergingattitudes or mores within the respective regions that may be determinedon any basis and using information or data obtained from any source,including but not limited to one or more postings or comments made tosocial networks, or to details pages for items maintained at an onlinemarketplace or any other locations. In some embodiments, once a level ofdemand is determined or predicted for a region, the level of demand maybe compared to one or more thresholds or limits in order to determinewhether the distribution or forward-deployment of items to the region isjustifiable or necessary.

At box 330, differences between the predicted regional demand and theforward-deployed inventory in specific regions are determined. Forexample, in each region where a demand for items is predicted at box320, the inventory of items that is available to respond to thatinventory may be compared to that demand on an item-wide orcategory-wide basis. A deficit of items, or a surplus of items, may bedetermined for each item, or category of items, in each region.

At box 340, replenishments of items may be routed to autonomous groundvehicle units in the specific regions to address differences betweenpredicted regional demand and forward-deployed inventory in thoseregions. For example, where the available inventory of a given item, orcategory of items, in a given region falls below the predicted (or knownor observed) demand for such items, the inventory may be replenished bydistributing additional items to the region, e.g., by a carrier vehicle,or by one or more other autonomous ground vehicles, from one or morefulfillment centers or other sources of such items, or other locations,including but not limited to regions where the predicted regional demandfor such items is less than the predicted regional demand for such itemsin the given region. In parallel, and at box 345, surplus items in theforward-deployed inventory may be removed from the autonomous groundvehicle units to address differences between the predicted regionaldemand and the forward-deployed inventory in those regions. For example,when the available inventory of a given item, or a category of items, ina given region exceeds the predicted (or known or observed) demand forsuch items, the inventory may be returned to one or more fulfillmentcenters or other sources of such items, or other locations, includingbut not limited to regions where the predicted regional demand for suchitems exceeds the predicted regional demand for such items in the givenregion. Any factor may be considered in determining whether todistribute additional inventory to a region, or to remove surplusinventory from the region, including but not limited to cost-basedconsiderations (e.g., financial costs, as well as opportunity costs).

At box 350, one or more orders are received from customers in regions,e.g., by way of a network site associated with an online marketplace, ora dedicated shopping application operating on a smartphone or othercomputer device, or by any other channel. At box 360, the orders arefulfilled by autonomous ground vehicle units within the respectiveregions where such orders are received or scheduled for delivery. Forexample, upon receipt of an order for one or more items from a customer,computer devices or resources operated by an online marketplace, afulfillment center or any other commercial entity may determine that theordered items are available onboard one or more autonomous groundvehicle units within a given region, and may dispatch or instruct one ormore of such units to deliver the ordered items to the customer, or to adestination designated by the customer. An order may be completely orpartially fulfilled using autonomous ground vehicle units in a givenregion, based on the levels of available inventory within the region, aproximity of a fulfillment center or other source of the ordered itemsto a customer or an intended destination, or on any other factor.Moreover, an autonomous vehicle may collaborate with one or more humans,machines or other vehicles, such as other autonomous vehicles infulfilling an order received by the marketplace from one or morecustomers in the regions.

At box 370, levels of the forward-deployed inventory in such regions areupdated based on the orders for such items that were received in suchregions and fulfilled using autonomous ground vehicle units in suchregions. The levels of the forward-deployed inventory may be updated inreal time, or in near-real time, immediately upon the receipt of anorder, the receipt of payment for the items included in the order, orupon the confirmed delivery of the items to a customer or a designatedlocation. Alternatively, the levels of the forward-deployed inventorymay update periodically, e.g., on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthlybasis, or at any other predetermined time.

At box 380, the predictions of regional demand are updated based on thereceived and fulfilled orders, or on one or more external factors. Forexample, in anticipation of Halloween, predictions of demand for candyin a given region may be updated based on orders for candy that werefulfilled using one or more autonomous ground vehicle units, as well asknown purchases of candy, or deliveries of candy, to the region. Thepredictions of the demand for candy may be further updated based on theday of the week on which Halloween is scheduled to occur in a given year(e.g., with greater demand for candy when October 31 falls on a weekend,and lesser demand when October 31 is a weekday), based on a weatherforecast for the region (e.g., with greater demand for candy whenweather is favorable for or conducive to trick-or-treating, and lesserdemand for candy when adverse weather is predicted), based on localhealth levels or initiatives, or any other factors.

At box 390, whether the predicted regional demand supports the continueddistribution of items to regions via autonomous ground vehicle units isdetermined. If regional demand for a given item remains strong, andorders for the given item are expected to be received in the near term,the process returns to box 330, where differences between the predictedregional demand and the forward-deployed inventory in the specificregions are determined. If the regional demand for the given item issufficiently low, or may be fulfilled using existing, non-distributed ornon-forward-deployed inventory on a cost-effective basis, then theprocess advances to box 395, where the autonomous ground vehicle unitsare instructed to return to the fulfillment center or, alternatively, toother locations where the regional demand may support their presencetherein, and the process ends.

Accordingly, embodiments of the autonomous ground vehicles of thepresent disclosure may be used to distribute or forward-deploy inventoryto regions where known, observed or predicted demand supports theirpresence there, and when orders for the inventory are reasonablyanticipated. Alternatively, embodiments of the autonomous groundvehicles of the present disclosure may also be used to remove surplusitems from a given region, and to return items to a fulfillment centeror deliver the items to another region.

One example of an autonomous ground vehicle that may be used in thedistribution or retrieval of inventory or materials in response toknown, observed or predicted demand is shown in FIG. 4. Referring toFIG. 4, a view of one autonomous ground vehicle 450 for distributing orretrieving inventory or materials in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure is shown. Except where otherwise noted, referencenumerals preceded by the number “4” in FIG. 4 refer to elements that aresimilar to elements having reference numerals preceded by the number “2”in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B or by the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 4, the autonomous ground vehicle 450 includes aframe 452, a storage compartment 457, a pair of axles 471 and aplurality of wheels 472 joined to the axles 471. A front surface of theframe 452 includes an imaging device 462-1 having a field of viewaligned in a forward direction or orientation with respect to theautonomous ground vehicle 450 and an array of lights 467. In someembodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 450 may include any number ofimaging devices 462-1, with fields of view that may be permanently oradjustably aligned in any direction or orientation with respect to theautonomous ground vehicle 450. In some embodiments, the autonomousground vehicle 450 may include any number of lights, on any surfacethereof, and one or more of the lights may include light emitting diodes(LEDs) or other light sources.

An upper surface of the frame 452 includes a door 453 providing accessto the storage compartment 457 is rotatably connected by a pair ofhinges 459. The door 453 may include any number of manual or automaticfeatures for causing the opening or closing thereof, and may include anysuitable dimensions with respect to the dimensions of the storagecompartment 457. In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 450may include doors 453 on any surface thereof, and any number of storagecompartments 457 of any size or shape. The upper surface of the frame452 further includes a transceiver 456, as well as a GPS receiver 462-2,which may receive geolocation data from or transmit geolocation data toa GPS network 485. In some embodiments, the transceiver 456 may includea WiFi transmitter and/or receiver for communicating with a network 480,which may include the Internet in whole or in part, as well as any othertransmitters and/or receivers for communicating in any other manner orfashion, or according to any other protocols. In some embodiments, thetransceiver 456 may be configured to transmit and/or receive one or morecodes or other information or data in one or more radio frequency (or“RF”) waves or signals, at any frequencies or power levels. In someembodiments, the transceiver 456 may be configured to transmit and/orreceive radio frequency identification (or “RFID”) signals, near-fieldcommunication (or “NFC”) signals, Bluetooth® signals, or any other typeof wireless signals. Additionally, the upper surface of the frame 452further includes a user interface 468 which may receive manualinteractions from a human user, or display information to the humanuser, as appropriate. For example, the user interface 468 may be atouchscreen display. In some embodiments, the GPS receiver 462-2, theuser interface 468 and/or the user interface 468 may be provided on anyother surface of the frame 452.

As is shown in FIG. 4, the autonomous ground vehicle 450 may include apower module 464 (e.g., a battery), a motor 470 (e.g., a DC electricmotor operating at twelve to forty-eight volts) and a steering component472 (e.g., one or more racks or pinions for automatically changing adirection of travel of the autonomous ground vehicle 450 and/or anorientation of one or more of the axles 471 or the wheels 473. The motor470 may be configured to operate at any speed or have any power rating,and to cause the autonomous ground vehicle 450 to travel in a forwarddirection of travel, a reverse direction of travel or in any otherdirection of travel as determined by the steering component 472.Additionally, the axles 471 and wheels 473 of the autonomous groundvehicle 450 may also have any dimension. For example, the wheels 473 mayhave bores or axle pads for accommodating axles 471 of any diameter orthickness, and any number of spokes or other extensions for supporting arim having any desired spacings or offsets for accommodating tires orother coverings. Each of the axles 471 may be joined to and configuredto rotate any number of wheels 473, which may include tires or othercoverings of any suitable material, including but not limited to rubbersand/or plastics. The wheels 473 or tires thereon may feature any numberof belts, walls, treads or other components, and may be pneumatic orsolid, or take any other form.

In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 450 may include anautomated fabricator such as a 3D printer, having any type or form oftooling equipment (not shown), e.g., within the storage compartment 457or elsewhere aboard the autonomous ground vehicle 450. Such fabricatorsand/or tooling equipment may include any machines or components formanipulating materials (e.g., stock materials loaded onto the autonomousground vehicle 450, or materials obtained from items, waste productsgenerated by such items, or remnants or scraps of such items that are nolonger desired) to form an end product therefrom. For example, thefabricators and/or tooling equipment may include one or more filaments,heads, blades, nozzles, motors, rollers, heat sources, radiation sourcesor other elements for molding, shaping, forming, curing, solidifying ordepositing layers of one or more of materials, or otherwise manipulatingthe materials, and forming an end product therefrom. The materials maybe any liquid, gaseous or solid materials that may be accessible to thetooling equipment and molded, shaped, formed, cured, solidified ordeposited into an end product. For example, the materials may bemaintained or stored in one or more vats, vessels, tanks, bins,platforms or other storage spaces within a chamber of the autonomousground vehicle 450, or accessible thereto. In some embodiments, thematerials may include thermoplastic materials including but not limitedto acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, nylon, high density polyethylene,polycarbonate, polyetherimide, polyether ether ketone, polylactic acid,poly(meth)acrylate, polyphenylene sulphone, polystyrene, as well as oneor more polymers, copolymers or ionomers thereof, or combinations of anyof such materials. In some embodiments, the materials may includealuminum, antimony, barium, bismuth, cesium, gold, lead, iodine, steel,tantalum, tin or tungsten, or one or more oxides, nitrides or alloysthereof. In some embodiments, the materials may include not onlyliquids, gases or solids but also gels, resins, plasmas or any othertypes or classes of materials.

According to some embodiments, autonomous vehicles of the presentdisclosure, such as the autonomous ground vehicle 450 of FIG. 4, may beconfigured for travel throughout an area or environment, such as travelon traditional transportation and non-traditional transportationinfrastructure provided within the area or environment. The autonomousground vehicle 450 may select a path or route based on geospatial dataregarding physical features in an area or environment including but notlimited to topographical data regarding the composition and surfacefeatures within the area or environment, as well as elevations of pointswithin the area or environment, which may be identified or determinedfrom satellite or ground-based imagery, GIS data, or any otherinformation or data obtained from any other source. Similarly, where anarea or environment includes transportation infrastructure such asroads, sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle or walking paths, bridges ortrails, and also non-traditional transportation infrastructure, e.g.,parks, fields, forests, lots, clearings or other spaces, the autonomousvehicle 450 may be configured for travel thereon along one or more pathsor routes, which may be selected or defined based on attributes of thetransportation infrastructure and other physical features within thearea or environment, as well as attributes of prior travel through thearea or environment. Information or data regarding prior travel that maybe used to select or define a path or route within an area orenvironment includes, but is not limited to, one or more time stamps(e.g., times and positions of autonomous vehicles within the given areaat such times), elapsed times between departures and arrivals, netspeeds, courses, angles of orientation (e.g., a yaw, a pitch or a roll),levels of traffic congestion, sizes or dimensions of any payloadscarried, environmental conditions or any other information or data thatdescribes or represents instances of prior travel by autonomous vehicleswithin the area or environment.

One example of the use of autonomous vehicles to distribute orforward-deploy inventory to regions or locations where demand for suchitems is known, observed or predicted, or to redistribute or re-deploysuch inventory, using autonomous ground vehicles is shown in FIGS. 5Athrough 5H. Referring to FIGS. 5A through 5H, views of aspects of onesystem 500 for distributing or retrieving inventory or materials usingautonomous vehicles in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure is shown. Except where otherwise noted, reference numeralspreceded by the number “5” in FIGS. 5A through 5H refer to elements thatare similar to elements having reference numerals preceded by the number“4” in FIG. 4, by the number “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B or by the number“1” shown in FIGS. 1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 5A, the system 500 includes a fulfillment center 530in a centralized location (viz., Hartford, Conn.) and a number of areas555-1, 555-2, 555-3, 555-4 where locally high levels of demand forspecific items are known or have been observed. For example, in theregion 555-1 (viz., Storrs, Conn.), demand for banners is twenty-fourpercent (24%) greater than normal. In the area 555-2 (viz., Groton,Conn.), demand for meat and potatoes is seventy-six percent (76%)greater than normal. In the area 555-3 (viz., Southport, Conn.), demandfor cheese is eighty percent (80%) greater than normal. In the area555-4 (viz., Southington, Conn.), demand for sneakers is eighteenpercent (18%) greater than normal.

As is discussed above, and in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, items may be distributed or forward-deployed toregions based on the known, predicted or observed demand for such items.As is shown in FIG. 5B, carrier vehicles 520-1, 520-2, 520-3, 520-4depart from the fulfillment center 530 with one or more autonomousground vehicles thereon. For example, the carrier vehicle 520-1 (viz., atractor-trailer) departs from the fulfillment center 530 for the area555-1 with a plurality of autonomous ground vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3having banners stored therein. Likewise, the carrier vehicle 520-2(viz., a van), the carrier vehicle 520-3 (viz., an airplane) and thecarrier vehicle 520-4 (viz., a truck) depart from the fulfillment center530 for the areas 555-2, 555-3, 555-4 with respective pluralities ofautonomous ground vehicles (not shown) having meat and potatoes, cheeseand sneakers, respectively, therein.

The carrier vehicles and the autonomous vehicles may be transported asclose as is possible or feasible under the respective circumstances tospecific regions where demand for items stored therein is known. As isshown in FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D, upon its arrival at the area 555-1, thecarrier vehicle 520-1 may be parked within range of regions 545-1,545-2, 545-3 where demand for the items 50-A (viz., banners) within theautonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 is known, observed or predictedto be locally high. The autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 maydisembark from the carrier vehicle 520-1 and travel to the regions545-1, 545-2, 545-3, or to within vicinities of such regions, where theautonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 may await the receipt of one ormore orders for the items 50-A from customers in such regions, or fromcustomers elsewhere in the area 555-1. For example, as is shown in FIG.5D, the autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 may disembark from thecarrier vehicle 520-1 and travel toward the regions 545-1, 545-2, 545-3on one or more roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle or walking paths,bridges or trails, or through parks, fields, forests, lots, clearings orother spaces between the carrier vehicle 520-1 and such regions 545-1,545-2, 545-3. When orders for delivery of the items 50-A to one or moreof the regions 545-1, 545-2, 545-3, or to nearby locations, the ordersmay be assigned to one or more of the autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2,550-3, which may then fulfill such orders by delivering the items 50-Ato locations specified by the customers, e.g., to home addresses,business addresses, storage lockers or other destinations or facilitieswithin the area 555-1.

As is also discussed above, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure are also configured to respond to changes in demand and/orlevels of distributed or forward-deployed inventory using autonomousground vehicles, in whole or in part. As is shown in FIG. 5E, the areas555-1, 555-2, 555-3, 555-4 report changes in the levels of actual orpredicted demand and inventory levels for specific items. For example,as is shown in FIG. 5E, in the region 555-1, there is a surplus oftextbooks that is thirty-eight percent (38%) greater than normal, whilein the region 555-2, there is a demand for textbooks that is twenty-fourpercent (24%) greater than normal. In the region 555-3, demand forornaments is sixteen percent (16%) greater than normal, while in theregion 555-4, a surplus of corrugated cardboard is eleven percent (11%)greater than normal.

The observed surpluses and demands for items within the system 500 maybe addressed by deploying inventory to areas of high or elevated demand,and removing inventory from areas of low or reduced demand, usingautonomous vehicles. As is shown in FIG. 5F, and in response to theincreased surplus of textbooks within the area 555-1 as shown in FIG.5E, regions 545-4, 545-5, 545-6 where surplus textbooks are known to belocated, or are believed to be located, are identified. As is shown inFIG. 5G, the autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3, which werepreviously loaded with the items 50-A and transported to the area 555-1by the carrier vehicle 520-1, may then be instructed to travel to suchregions 545-4, 545-5, 545-6, where the autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2,550-3 may retrieve one or more of the items 50-B (viz., textbooks) fromusers in such regions. For example, upon identifying the regions 545-4,545-5, 545-6 having locations where the items 50-B are available, anonline marketplace or other automatic or human-based systems mayinitiate contact with one or more owners of the items 50-B in the area555-1 in general, or in the regions 545-4, 545-5, 545-6 in particular,and offer to purchase or otherwise obtain the items 50-B from the ownerswho are located there. The autonomous vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 maythen be instructed to receive the items 50-B from such owners, to storethe items 50-B therein, and to return to the carrier vehicle 520-1,where the vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3 may be loaded thereon.

Thereafter, the autonomous ground vehicles 550-1, 550-2, 550-3, and thetextbooks stored therein, may be transported to locations where demandfor textbooks is particularly high, viz., the region 555-2.Simultaneously, or at different times, the carrier vehicle 520-3 maytransport autonomous vehicles (not shown) having ornaments storedtherein from the fulfillment center 530 to the area 555-3, to addressthe increased level of demand for such items that was known, predictedor observed in the area 555-3. Meanwhile, the carrier vehicle 520-4 mayreturn from the area 555-4 to the fulfillment center 530 (or anotherdestination) with autonomous vehicles (not shown) carrying corrugatedcardboard retrieved from regions or locations in the area 555-4, inresponse to the surplus of corrugated cardboard that was known,predicted or observed there.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, autonomousvehicles of the present disclosure may be transported from one locationto another in any manner. In some embodiments, autonomous vehicles maytravel between any two or more locations under their own power. Forexample, autonomous vehicles may be instructed to travel with aplurality of items from a fulfillment center or other centralizedlocation to regions where demand for the items is known, observed orpredicted, e.g., on roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle or walkingpaths, bridges or trails, or through parks, fields, forests, lots,clearings or other spaces, such as at night or during other periods whenvehicle and/or foot traffic are expected to be low. Alternatively, as isshown in FIGS. 5B, 5C, 5D, 5G and 5H, autonomous vehicles may betransported via a ground-based carrier vehicle, which may, in someembodiments, be a truck and/or trailer (e.g., a tractor-trailer orsimilarly sized or configured vehicle), a van, a car, a cart or anotherlike vehicle, as well as another autonomous ground vehicle. Thetransportation of autonomous vehicles is not limited to ground-basedmodes of transit, however.

Referring to FIG. 6, a view of aspects of one system 600 fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure isshown. Except where otherwise noted, reference numerals preceded by thenumber “6” in FIG. 6 refer to elements that are similar to elementshaving reference numerals preceded by the number “5” in FIGS. 5A through5H, by the number “4” in FIG. 4, by the number “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2Bor by the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 6, the system 600 includes a carrier vehicle 620(e.g., a cargo aircraft) traveling over a region 645 where demand forone or more items is known, observed or predicted. The carrier vehicle620 is seen deploying a plurality of autonomous vehicles 650-1, 650-2,650-3, each of which is carrying one or more of the items that are indemand within the region 645. As is shown in FIG. 6, each of theautonomous vehicles 650-1, 650-2, 650-3 is equipped with a retractableparachute or other system enabling the autonomous vehicles 650-1, 650-2,650-3 to disembark from the carrier vehicle 620 and land safely withinthe region 645. The carrier vehicle 620 may include one or moreair-to-ground delivery systems for deploying the autonomous vehicles650-1, 650-2, 650-3 therefrom, in any manner, including but not limitedto a free-drop, a high-velocity airdrop, a low-velocity airdrop, or alow-altitude extraction. Alternatively, the autonomous vehicles 650-1,650-2, 650-3 may be delivered to the region 645 using any other type orform of aerial vehicle, including but not limited to aircraft that arepowered by jets, propellers or wind, such as unmanned aerial vehicles(or drones), helicopters, gliders or the like.

The deployment of inventory using autonomous vehicles that are deliveredby air, such as is shown in FIG. 6, may be utilized at any time and inany location, and are particularly advantageous at times or in locationswhere delivery of autonomous vehicles via traditional transportationmodes, such as highways, thruways, parkways, roads or streets, areunavailable for travel via vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans ortrailers. For example, following a natural disaster, when one or moreroutes may be blocked or inaccessible, delivering autonomous vehiclesvia air, such as is shown in FIG. 6, may be particularly effective. Oncethe autonomous vehicles 650-1, 650-2, 650-3 have landed within theregion 645, the autonomous vehicles 650-1, 650-2, 650-3 may determinetheir respective positions, e.g., using a GPS receiver, and execute oneor more instructions to travel to specific locations within the region645 where demand for the respective items carried aboard the autonomousvehicles 650-1, 650-2, 650-3 is particularly high, or to fulfill one ormore orders for such items that were placed by customers within theregion 645, or ordered for delivery to the region 645.

Additionally, autonomous vehicles may return from a location in anymanner, such as under their own power, or by boarding a ground-basedcarrier vehicle that is at rest, such as the carrier vehicle 520-1 shownin FIG. 5G. Autonomous vehicles may also be delivered or retrieved usingground-based carrier vehicles that are in motion. Referring to FIG. 7, aview of aspects of one system 700 for distributing or retrievinginventory or materials using autonomous vehicles in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Except where otherwisenoted, reference numerals preceded by the number “7” in FIG. 7 refer toelements that are similar to elements having reference numerals precededby the number “6” in FIG. 6, by the number “5” in FIGS. 5A through 5H,by the number “4” in FIG. 4, by the number “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B orby the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 7, the system includes a carrier vehicle 720 (e.g.,a tractor-trailer) traveling on a road 702 among traffic. A ramp 723 orother feature is extended from the carrier vehicle 720 to the road 702,and ends at a sufficiently low distance above the road 702. A pluralityof autonomous ground vehicles 750-1, 750-2, 750-3 are also shown ashaving traveled on the road 702. Each of the autonomous ground vehicles750-1, 750-2, 750-3 may enter or depart from a storage compartment orother area of the carrier vehicle 720, by autonomously aligning with arear door of the carrier vehicle 720, and ultimately exceeding orfalling below the velocity of the carrier vehicle 720, or otherwiseestablishing a positive or a negative relative velocity with respect tothe carrier vehicle 720, until the autonomous ground vehicles 750-1,750-2, 750-3 travel up the ramp 723 and entering the carrier vehicle720, or roll off the ramp 723 and depart from the carrier vehicle 720.Within the carrier vehicle 720, any number of maintenance or servicingoperations may be conducted on any of the autonomous ground vehicles750-1, 750-2, 750-3, including but not limited to restocking orreplacing inventory, recharging any power modules, repairing any damage,or like operations. Subsequently, the carrier vehicle 720 may retrieveor deposit one or more of the autonomous ground vehicles 750-1, 750-2,750-3 at any other locations, including locations where demand for itemsstored therein is known, observed or predicted, or where the acquisitionof any items, waste products generated by such items, or remnants orscraps of such items may be desired.

As is discussed above, items or materials may be autonomouslytransferred by or between one or more autonomous vehicles, when suchvehicles are collaborating on the performance of one or more tasks orthe execution of one or more functions. For example, when one or moreitems or materials are to be delivered to a customer or anotherdestination, a first autonomous vehicle carrying the items or materialsmay travel to a rendezvous point and meet a second autonomous vehiclethere. The items or materials may be transferred from the firstautonomous vehicle to the second autonomous vehicle at the rendezvouspoint, and the second autonomous vehicle may continue to deliver theitems or materials to the customer or the predetermined destination.Alternatively, where an item is to be generated from one or morematerials according to multiple steps of a manufacturing or productionprocess, a first autonomous vehicle that is equipped with toolingequipment or other components for executing some of the steps of themanufacturing or production process may execute such steps prior totransferring the item or materials in a partially completed state to asecond autonomous vehicle that is configured to execute other steps andto complete the manufacturing or production process. The secondautonomous vehicle may then complete the manufacturing or productionprocess while en route to a customer or destination for the manufactureditem, and deliver the item when the manufacturing or production processis complete. Any number of autonomous vehicles may collaborate with anynumber of other autonomous vehicles when performing any task orexecuting any function in accordance with the present disclosure.

One example of a transfer of items or materials from one autonomousvehicle to another autonomous vehicle is shown in FIGS. 8A through 8F.Referring to FIGS. 8A through 8F, aspects of one system 800 fordistributing or receiving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure areshown. Except where otherwise noted, reference numerals preceded by thenumber “8” in FIGS. 8A through 8F refer to elements that are similar toelements having reference numerals preceded by the number “7” in FIG. 7,by the number “6” in FIG. 6, by the number “5” in FIGS. 5A through 5H,by the number “4” in FIG. 4, by the number “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B orby the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 8A, a system includes a pair of intersecting streets802, 806 that are lined by sidewalks 804, 808, respectively. Anautonomous vehicle 850-1 carrying an item 80 travels along the road 802and the sidewalk 804 to approach an autonomous vehicle 850-2 that isparked alongside the sidewalk 804 at a rendezvous point 855. As is shownin FIG. 8B, each of the autonomous vehicles 850-1, 850-2 includes astorage compartment 853-1, 853-2 having a door 857-1A, 857-2A (or hatch,or like covering) 857-1A, 857-2A that may be opened or secured in aclosed condition. Each of the autonomous vehicles 850-1, 850-2 alsoincludes an item engagement system 874-1, 874-2 having a robotic arm orother like element for engaging items or materials, as desired. The itemengagement systems 874-1, 874-2 also feature doors 857-1B, 857-2B thatmay be opened or closed, as necessary, in order to interact with one ormore items or materials. As is shown in FIG. 8B, the item 80 is withinthe storage compartment 853-1 of the autonomous vehicle 850-1, with thedoor 857-1A closed.

As is discussed above, items and/or materials may be transferred betweenautonomous vehicles or humans, machines or other vehicles, as necessary,in order to perform any task or execute any function. As is shown inFIG. 8C, the doors 853-1A, 853-1B of the autonomous vehicle 850-1,thereby enabling the item engagement system 874-1 to extend into thestorage compartment 853-1 and access the item 80 therein. As is shown inFIG. 8D, after the item 80 has been removed from the storage compartment853-1, the door 857-1A may close, and the door 857-2B of the autonomousvehicle 850-2 may open, to enable the item engagement 874-2 to extendtherefrom and retrieve the item 80 from the item engagement system874-1.

As is shown in FIG. 8E, after the item 80 has been retrieved by the itemengagement system 874-2, the item engagement 874-1 may retract into theautonomous vehicle 850-1, and the door 857-1B may close. The door 857-2Amay then open, thereby enabling the item engagement system 874-2 todeposit the item 80 in the storage compartment 853-2 of the autonomousvehicle 850-2. As is shown in FIG. 8F, after the item 80 has beensecured within the storage compartment 853-2, the autonomous vehicle850-2 may then depart from the rendezvous point 855 and proceed on todeliver the item 80 to a customer, to another destination, or to anothervehicle (e.g., another autonomous vehicle). The autonomous vehicle 850-1may then also depart from the rendezvous point 855 to perform anothertask or execute another function, such as to deliver another item ormaterials to a customer, another destination or another vehicle (e.g.,another autonomous vehicle), or to receive another item or materialsfrom a fulfillment center, a carrier vehicle or another vehicle (e.g.,another autonomous vehicle).

Some embodiments of the autonomous ground vehicles and carrier vehiclesof the present disclosure, such as the autonomous ground vehicle 450 ofFIG. 4, the carrier vehicles 620, 720 of FIGS. 6 and 7, or theautonomous ground vehicles 850-1, 850-2 of FIGS. 8A through 8F may beused to retrieve materials from locations, to manufacture or produceitems from such materials and from any stock materials that may becarried aboard the autonomous ground vehicles, or to transfer items ormaterials between autonomous ground vehicles and/or carrier vehicles,before delivering items to a customer or a designated location.Referring to FIG. 9, a flow chart 900 of one process for distributing orretrieving inventory or materials using autonomous vehicles inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

At box 910, materials that are available in one or more specific regionsmay be estimated based on prior purchasing and use histories in theregions or, alternatively, on any other factors, such as extrinsic data.The number and type of materials that are available may be estimated onany basis. For example, where it is known that customers in a regionpurchased seasonal plants in plastic pots, cases of soda in aluminumcans, or any other items packed in corrugated cardboard boxes with paperdunnage, the amount of recyclable plastic, aluminum, cardboard or paperthat is expected to be available in the area may be predicted based onthe number and size of the plant pots, the number of soda cans, thenumber and size of the cardboard boxes and the volume of paper dunnage.Similarly, where it is known that customers in a given area havepurchased a number of mattresses, it may be expected that such customerswill need to discard their existing mattresses, which are likely of thesame sizes as the mattresses that were purchased. Therefore, a number ofmattresses and/or box springs, and, therefore, amounts of steel (e.g.,from springs), foam (e.g., from padding), wood (e.g., from box springs)or textiles (e.g., from mattress surfaces) that may be available in thearea may be estimated accordingly. Alternatively, available materials ina given area may be determined based on information or data obtainedfrom any source. For example, postings to auction sites or onlinemarketplaces by sellers in the area may be consulted to identify itemsthat are available for purchase in a given area, and information or dataregarding the ingredients or contents of such items may be determinedfrom one or more electronic sources to estimate the items or materialsthat may be available in the area, and at what cost. Moreover, weatherreports, construction reports, sales circulars, or any other availablesources of information or data regarding the availability of itemswithin the area may also be consulted to identify items, materials orcosts thereof.

At box 920, regional demand for items is predicted for any number ofother regions. For example, as is discussed above with regard to theflow chart 300 of FIG. 3, regional demands for items may be determinedbased on prior purchasing histories, demographics, attributes of theitems, upcoming events, attitudes or mores, postings or comments made tosocial networks, online marketplaces or other networked sites, or basedon any other available information or data. In parallel, and at box 925,materials that are required to manufacture or produce one or more itemsthat are in demand in the respective regions are determined. Forexample, procedures for manufacturing or producing one or more items,and the ingredients or components required to manufacture or producesuch items, may be determined by resort to one or more electronicsources of information or data, along with any specific resources (e.g.,power, fuel, equipment or operating conditions) that may be required tomanufacture or produce the items.

At box 930, autonomous ground vehicles that are outfitted with automatedfabricator systems and loaded with materials are dispatched to one ormore regions where items that are in demand are not presently availablethere. The autonomous ground vehicles may be equipped with any number ortype of stock materials, and programmed with instructions formanufacturing such items from specific materials that are available in aregion and/or stock materials using automated fabricator systems (e.g.,3D printers) and one or more tooling systems operating aboard theautonomous ground vehicles. The autonomous ground vehicles may reporttheir inventory levels, material levels and/or locations, e.g., asdetermined by GPS or other positioning systems, to an onlinemarketplace, a fulfillment center, a carrier vehicle, a vehiclemonitoring system, one or more other autonomous ground vehicles, or toany other stationary or mobile computer system or resource while theautonomous ground vehicles are in operation.

At box 940, an order for the purchase of a manufacturable item isreceived by a marketplace from a customer within the region, and at box950, one or more autonomous ground vehicle units in the region havingsome of the materials for manufacturing the ordered item and anappropriate fabricator unit for manufacturing the ordered item isidentified. A computer system or resource operated by or in associationwith the marketplace may receive the order and identify the customerand/or a designated destination for the item, before identifying theautonomous ground vehicles in the vicinity of the customer or thedesignated destination and their respective operational capacitiesbefore selecting one or more preferred or optimal autonomous groundvehicles for manufacturing and delivering the ordered item. Suchvehicles may be selected on any basis or based on any factors, includingbut not limited to information or data regarding aspects of traditionaltransportation infrastructure within the region, e.g., locations anddimensions or other attributes of roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycleor walking paths, bridges or trails, or non-traditional transportationinfrastructure, e.g., locations and dimensions of parks, fields,forests, lots, clearings or other spaces, as well as intrinsic orextrinsic information or data regarding the available autonomousvehicles, including but not limited to dimensions or capacities of suchvehicles (e.g., heights, lengths, widths, power levels, speeds, rangesor carrying volumes or weight limits), locations of the autonomousvehicles, or environmental conditions (e.g., prevailing traffic orweather) in the region, or others.

At box 952, a procedure for manufacturing the ordered item by the one ormore autonomous ground vehicles selected at box 950 is determined, andat box 954, the locations of any remaining materials that are requiredto manufacture the ordered item and are not then available aboard aselected autonomous ground vehicle, or two or more of such vehicles, aredetermined. The procedure for manufacturing the ordered item may bestored on one or more data stores onboard an autonomous ground vehicleor, alternatively, downloaded to the autonomous ground vehicle over anetwork connection. The locations of the remaining materials may bedetermined based on the estimates determined at box 910, or based on anyadditional information or data that may be subsequently obtained.Moreover, the task of fulfilling the order may be assigned to a singleautonomous vehicle that is configured or equipped to execute each of thesteps of the procedure for manufacturing the ordered item or,alternatively, to two or more autonomous vehicles, each of which may beconfigured or equipped to execute one or more of the steps of theprocedure.

At box 956, requests for one or more of the remaining materials that arerequired to manufacture the ordered item are issued to one or morecustomers who are in possession of the materials. For example, one ormore electronic communications (e.g., electronic mail messages, SMS orMMS text messages, social network messages, online marketplace messages,telephone calls or the like) may be transmitted to a customer,identifying one or more items or materials that are believed to be inthe customer's possession or otherwise accessible to the customer. Suchcommunications may indicate an intent to acquire such items ormaterials, which may be in a raw or processed form, and may include anoffer to purchase such items in exchange for cash, credit for futurepurchases, or any other consideration. At box 958, authorizations toretrieve the remaining materials are received, e.g., from customers orother sources in possession of the items. Such authorizations mayinclude acceptances of offers for purchase, invitations to retrieve theitems or materials, or any other indications.

At box 960, a route for one or more selected autonomous ground vehiclesfrom their current locations to a location of the customer who orderedthe item, via the locations of the remaining materials, is determined.The route may be determined based on any factor or element, includingbut not limited to the time required to manufacture the ordered itemusing the materials that are then located aboard the selected autonomousground vehicles and any of the remaining materials, as well as theprocedure required to manufacture the ordered item from such materialsand a sequence in which such materials will be utilized. In someembodiments, the route may be selected according to one or moretraditional shortest path or shortest route algorithms such asDijkstra's Algorithm, Bellman-Ford Algorithm, Floyd-Warshall Algorithm,Johnson's Algorithm or a hub labeling technique, any of which may takeinto consideration the times required in order to execute each of thesteps of the procedure by each of the selected autonomous vehicles.

At box 970, the remaining materials are retrieved from their respectivelocations while one or more of the selected autonomous ground vehiclesare en route to the location of the customer, and at box 980, theordered item is manufactured aboard the autonomous ground vehicles. Inaccordance with some embodiments, one or more autonomous ground vehiclesmay manufacture the ordered items while such vehicles are in motion.Alternatively, and where necessary, one or more of the autonomous groundvehicles may stop in any secure or low-traffic locations while preparingthe ordered item, in order to conserve power or other resources, torecharge power supplies, to obtain any additional materials that may berequired, to wait until one or more steps of the manufacturing procedureare complete, or for any other reason. At box 990, when themanufacturing of the ordered item is complete, the ordered item isdelivered to the customer, and the process ends.

One example of the retrieval of items and/or materials by an autonomousground vehicle and the manufacture of an ordered item using suchmaterials is shown in FIGS. 10A through 10C. Referring to FIGS. 10Athrough 10C, views of aspects of one system 1000 for distributing orretrieving inventory or materials using autonomous vehicles inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Exceptwhere otherwise noted, reference numerals preceded by the number “10” inFIGS. 10A through 10C refer to elements that are similar to elementshaving reference numerals preceded by the number “8” in FIGS. 8A through8F, by the number “7” in FIG. 7, by the number “6” in FIG. 6, by thenumber “5” in FIGS. 5A through 5H, by the number “4” in FIG. 4, by thenumber “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B or by the number “1” shown in FIGS. 1Athrough 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 10A, an order for the purchase and delivery of anitem (viz., a desk chair) is received by an online marketplace (notshown) from a customer 1040-1 in a region 1045 over a network 1080. Thecustomer 1040-1 may access a network site or dedicated shoppingapplication associated with the marketplace, or communicate with themarketplace in any way, to review and evaluate one or more items forpurchase and to place the order for the desk chair. As is shown in FIG.10A, the order identifies the item by name and an identifier, as well asa price paid by the customer 1040-1 for the desk chair, and adestination to which the desk chair is to be delivered. An autonomousground vehicle 1050 is located in the region 1045 at the time that theorder is received, and is carrying one half-dozen roller wheels and aspring chassis, e.g., in one or more storage compartments aboard theautonomous ground vehicle 1050.

As is shown in FIG. 10B, an instruction to manufacture the ordered item,and to deliver the ordered item to the customer 1040-1, is provided tothe autonomous ground vehicle 1050, along with information or dataregarding the availability of items and/or materials within the region1045 that may be used by the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 tomanufacture the ordered item. For example, as is shown in FIG. 10B,identities and locations of a customer 1040-2 who is offering a plasticchild's swingset for sale at an auction site, a customer 1040-3 who isplanning to recycle steel cans and scraps, and a customer 1040-4 who isplacing an old couch outside for a bulky waste pickup are obtained bythe autonomous ground vehicle 1050, or otherwise provided to theautonomous ground vehicle 1050, e.g., via one or more networkconnections to the Internet according to any protocol, as well as one ormore RF waves or signals, one or more NFC signals, one or moreBluetooth® signals, or any other type of wireless signals. Theautonomous ground vehicle 1050 may also receive or obtain one or moreinstructions for manufacturing the ordered item from the materials

In some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 may generate anoptimal path 1005 for traveling from its original location to thelocations of the customers 1040-1, 1040-2, 1040-3, 1040-4, and define aprocedure for retrieving items and/or materials from such locations, formanufacturing the ordered item in accordance with a predetermined set ofinstructions while the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 is en route to thecustomer 1040-1, and for delivering the item to the customer 1040-1. Asis shown in FIG. 10C, the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 purchases theplastic swingset that was offered for sale by the customer 1040-2, e.g.,from the auction site over the Internet, and arranges to retrieve theswingset from the customer 1040-2. Additionally, while the autonomousground vehicle 1050 is en route from its original location to thelocation of the customer 1040-1, the autonomous ground vehicle 1050joins one or more of the roller wheels to the spring chassis that theautonomous ground vehicle 1050 has in stock, in accordance withdirections for manufacturing the ordered item, using automatedfabricators and/or tooling equipment, e.g., filaments, heads, blades,nozzles, motors, rollers, heat sources, radiation sources or otherelements, that are located onboard the autonomous ground vehicle 1050.

After retrieving the plastic swingset from the customer 1040-2, theautonomous ground vehicle 1050 melts down the plastic swingset whilecontinuing along the path 1005, and molds some or all of the plastic tothe chassis while the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 is en route to thelocation of the customer 1040-3. Upon arriving at the location of thecustomer 1040-3, the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 retrieves the steelcans and other scrap from the customer 1040-3, and forms a chairbackfrom the newly obtained steel, e.g., by bending, forging, melting, orshaping some or all of the steel into the chairback, and bolting orotherwise joining the chairback to the chassis, while continuing alongthe path 1005. Upon arriving at the location of the customer 1040-4, theautonomous ground vehicle 1050 retrieves the couch, and harvestsstuffing and/or other textile materials from the couch, beforeproceeding along the path 1005 to the location of the customer 1040-1and padding the chairback with stuffing or other materials that wereobtained from the couch while en route. Upon arriving at the location ofthe customer 1040-1, the autonomous ground vehicle 1050 delivers theordered item, viz., the completed desk chair, to the customer 1040-1.The autonomous ground vehicle 1050 may then execute any number ofassociated functions, including but not limited to reporting themanufacture of the ordered item and the delivery of the ordered item tothe customer 1040-1, and reporting or updating levels of inventory initems and/or materials remaining onboard the autonomous ground vehicle1050 after the delivery is complete. Additionally, the autonomous groundvehicle 1050 may then discard any unusable waste products, retrieveadditional items or materials, execute any number of repair ormaintenance evolutions, or proceed to a different location, such as alocation of a fulfillment center, or another location where demand forone or more items carried aboard the autonomous ground vehicle 1050, orfor items that may be manufactured by the autonomous ground vehicle 1050using materials in its possession and/or around the region 1045, isknown, observed or predicted.

As is discussed above, one or more of the steps of the procedure shownin FIG. 10C may be executed using multiple autonomous vehicles. Forexample, after the order is received from the customer 1040-1, a firstautonomous vehicle may purchase the plastic swingset from the customer1040-2, while a second autonomous vehicle (e.g., the autonomous groundvehicle 1050) may join the one or more roller wheels to the springchassis before transferring the chassis and wheels to a third autonomousvehicle that may retrieve the purchased swingset, melt down the plastic,and mold the plastic to the chassis. The third autonomous vehicle maythen transfer the molded plastic chassis and wheels to a fourthautonomous vehicle that may obtain the steel cans and scrap, shape themetal from the cans and scrap into the chairback, and bolt or join thechairback to the chassis. The fourth autonomous vehicle may thentransfer the chairback and chassis unit to a fifth autonomous vehiclethat may process the couch to harvest the stuffing and textile materialstherefrom, and to pad the chairback with the stuffing and materials. Thefifth autonomous vehicle may then transfer the completed desk chair to asixth autonomous vehicle for delivery to the customer 1040-1. Any numberof autonomous vehicles may perform any number of the steps associatedwith fulfilling the order of the desk chair on behalf of the customer1040-1 in accordance with the present disclosure.

The capacity to obtain items or materials remotely using one or moreautonomous vehicles of the present disclosure, or to manufacture orproduce items from such materials aboard one or more of such vehicles,may greatly simplify any number of commercial processes by which itemsmay be delivered to customers, or to destinations specified bycustomers. In some embodiments, autonomous vehicles of the presentdisclosure may aid in the distribution of items having high salesvelocities or short shelf lives or periods of relevance. For example, ina region where blueberries have a short growing season, autonomousvehicles may be utilized to distribute or forward-deploy bushels ofblueberries in cardboard or plastic containers and to deliver suchcontainers to regions where blueberries are in demand. After theblueberries have been sold, autonomous vehicles may also be utilized toaccelerate the processes by which blueberries are sold to customers, byretrieving the plastic containers from customers who previouslypurchased blueberries at a later time, such as after the shelf lives orexpiration times of the blueberries (e.g., typically two to three daysfor blueberries maintained at room temperature, or five to ten days forblueberries maintained under refrigeration), and returning suchcontainers to a farm from which the blueberries were harvested, so thatsuch containers may be washed and refilled with fresh blueberries. Thecontainers may then be loaded onto the autonomous vehicles anddistributed or forward-deployed to regions where blueberries remain indemand. Alternatively, an autonomous vehicle may be utilized to identifylocations where cardboard and/or plastic materials are prevalent, e.g.,recycling stations or the like, and to produce cardboard or plasticcontainers from such materials, and to deliver such containers to thefarm, where such containers may be filled, loaded onto the autonomousvehicle, and distributed or forward-deployed to regions whereblueberries remain in demand.

Some embodiments of the autonomous ground vehicles of the presentdisclosure may also be configured to automatically access one or morestructures or enclosures such as dwellings, office buildings, garages orother like structures, in order to deliver one or more items tocustomers or other recipients, or to retrieve items or materialstherefrom. Referring to FIG. 11, a flow chart 1100 of one process fordistributing or retrieving inventory or materials using autonomousvehicles in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure isshown.

At box 1110, an order for the delivery of an item is received from acustomer residing in a given region. The order may be received via anetwork site or a dedicated shopping application associated with anonline marketplace or in any other manner, e.g., by telephone or inperson. At box 1120, an autonomous ground vehicle unit in the regionhaving access to the item ordered by the customer is dispatched with theitem to the location of the customer. For example, an autonomous groundvehicle may be identified based on one or more records of the positionsof autonomous ground vehicles, or the inventory stored thereon, anddetermine which of a fleet of such vehicles is best suited to deliverthe ordered item to the customer. Alternatively, a fulfillment center orother source of items within or near the region may load the ordereditem onto an autonomous ground vehicle and instruct the autonomousground vehicle, or two or more autonomous ground vehicles, to deliverthe ordered item to the customer.

At box 1130, the autonomous ground vehicle unit arrives at the locationof the customer, and at box 1135, the autonomous ground vehicle unitconfirms its position at the location of the customer. For example,referring again to FIG. 4, the autonomous ground vehicle 450 may receiveand interpret GPS signals using the GPS receiver 462-2, determine aposition based on the interpreted GPS signals, and report its positionto an online marketplace, a fulfillment center, a vehicle monitoringsystem, or any other computer device or resource associated with thefulfillment of the order placed by the customer.

At box 1140, after confirming its position at the location of thecustomer, the autonomous ground vehicle unit receives instructions foraccessing the location of the customer, and at box 1145, the autonomousground vehicle unit executes the instructions and communicates with anaccess device at the location of the customer. For example, theinstructions may call for the transmission of one or more signalsincluding electronic data by an autonomous ground vehicle to one or morewirelessly activated systems within one or more structures at thelocation. In some embodiments, such systems may include wireless dooropeners (e.g., standard doors equipped with keyless access systems, aswell as garage doors, pet doors or other access doors), wirelessdoorbells, or any other systems (e.g., feedback devices of any kind). Inother embodiments, the instructions may call for the transmission of oneor more electronic messages to one or more systems within a structure atthe location of the customer, or to a computer device or resourceassociated with the customer or the location. For example, theinstructions may require an autonomous ground vehicle to transmit anelectronic message (e.g., electronic mail messages, SMS or MMS textmessages, social network messages, online marketplace messages,telephone calls or the like) to an access device such as a securitysystem at the location, or to a computer device or resource associatedwith the customer, a resident at the location, or any other authorizedpersonnel, e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a desktop or othercomputer device or resource. Signals or messages may be transmitted byan autonomous ground vehicle to one or more systems over anycommunications network and in accordance with any protocol, includingbut not limited to WiFi or any radio frequency waves or signals, at anyfrequencies or power levels, such as RFID signals, NFC signals,Bluetooth® signals, or any other type of wireless signals.

At box 1150, the access device authenticates the autonomous groundvehicle unit, and at box 1160, the autonomous ground vehicle unit isgranted access to one or more facilities at the location of thecustomer. For example, in response to the execution of the instructions,the access device may automatically confirm that the autonomous groundvehicle unit is authorized to access the facility at the location, whichmay be a dwelling, an office building, a garage or another likestructure, and may open, or permit the authorized unit to open, one ormore doors, access ports or other entryways at the facility. Such doors,ports, or entryways may include, but are not limited to, one or moregarage doors, pet doors, or the like. Alternatively, in someembodiments, the facility to which the autonomous ground vehicle unit isgranted access may be a car, a truck, a trailer, a ship, an aerialvehicle or any other type or form of vehicle, and access may be grantedby causing a door, a trunk, a hood, a sunroof, a window or another entrypoint to automatically open in response to the execution of the accessinstructions and the authentication of the autonomous ground vehicleunit. In such embodiments, the access device may be or comprise all or aportion of an automobile security system, or like system for securing ormonitoring access to one or more other vehicles. Additionally, in someother embodiments, the facility may be or include an unbounded porch,portico, set of steps or other area, and the access granted may be atemporary right to access the area to deposit the item. In still otherembodiments, the access device may be a wireless doorbell or otherdevice for providing feedback to one or more personnel within thefacility, in the form of audio, visual (e.g., lights), haptic or otherfeedback, thereby informing such personnel that the autonomous groundvehicle unit has arrived, and inviting such personnel to exit thefacility and receive the ordered item.

At box 1170, the autonomous ground vehicle unit deposits the ordereditem at the facility, and at box 1180, the autonomous ground vehicleunit confirms the deposit of the ordered item at the facility. Forexample, one or more item engagement systems or devices, e.g., a roboticarm, of an autonomous ground vehicle may retrieve the ordered the itemfrom a storage compartment, and deposit the ordered item in apredetermined location at the facility. Alternatively, the customer or adesignated representative may access the cargo bay or other storagecompartment upon the selected vehicle's arrival, and manually retrievethe ordered item therefrom. An ordered item may be removed from theautonomous ground vehicle and deposited at the facility in any manner inaccordance with the present disclosure. Moreover, upon depositing theordered item at the facility, the autonomous ground vehicle may furthercommunicate with an access device at the location, or with one or moreother computer devices or resources over a network, e.g., one or morecomputer systems associated with an online marketplace, a fulfillmentcenter, a carrier vehicle, another autonomous ground vehicle or thecustomer, and report that the item has been deposited there. After thedepositing of the ordered item has been confirmed, the autonomous groundvehicle unit departs the facility and the location at box 1185, and theaccess device secures the facility at the location of the customer atbox 1190, before the process ends.

Although the process represented in the flow chart 1100 of FIG. 11involves depositing an item at a location specified by a customer, thoseof ordinary skill in the pertinent arts would recognize that a similarprocess might be executed in order to obtain access to a location inorder to retrieve items, waste products generated by such items, orremnants or scraps of such items therefrom, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, any number ofautonomous vehicles may be utilized to access a location or a facilityat the location, and may perform one or more of the steps of the processin the flow chart 1100, in accordance with the present disclosure.

One example in which an automated vehicle automatically obtains accessto a facility at a location specified by a customer is shown in FIGS.12A through 12H. Referring to FIGS. 12A through 12H, views of aspects ofone system 1200 for distributing or retrieving inventory or materialsusing autonomous vehicles in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure are shown. Except where otherwise noted, reference numeralspreceded by the number “11” in FIGS. 12A through 12H refer to elementsthat are similar to elements having reference numerals preceded by thenumber “10” in FIGS. 10A through 10C, by the number “8” in FIGS. 8Athrough 8F, by the number “7” in FIG. 7, by the number “6” in FIG. 6, bythe number “5” in FIGS. 5A through 5H, by the number “4” in FIG. 4, bythe number “2” in FIG. 2A or FIG. 2B or by the number “1” shown in FIGS.1A through 1H.

As is shown in FIG. 12A, an order for a delivery of an item (e.g., apair of scissors) to a location 1240 is placed by a customer. The orderidentifies the item and the customer (e.g., by a customer number orother identifier), and an address of the location 1240 to which deliveryof the ordered item is desired. An autonomous ground vehicle 1250delivers the ordered item from a fulfillment center or other source (notshown) to the location 1240 specified in the order via an optimal path1205 that may be determined on any basis and according to any formula ortechnique.

As is shown in FIG. 12B, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 confirms itsposition at the location 1240 based on signals received from a GPSnetwork 1285, and reports its position to an external computer device orresource (not shown) via a network 1280. The location 1240 includes aplurality of access points, including a garage door 1241, a pet door1243 and a front door 1245. The pet door 1243 may be any entry way thatis substantially smaller than a traditional door ordinarily accessed byhumans, and need not be actually accessed by or accessible to pets. Insome embodiments, the pet door 1243 may be specifically sized toaccommodate or enable access to the location 1240 by one or moreautonomous ground vehicles, instead of or in addition to pets. Access toeach of the garage door 1241, the pet door 1243 and the front door 1245may be restricted by one or more access devices and/or wirelesslyactivated security systems (not shown).

After confirming its position at the location 1240, the autonomousground vehicle 1250 may be granted access to deposit the ordered item atthe location 1240 in any number of ways. As is shown in FIG. 12C, theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 may access the location 1240 bywirelessly activating the garage door 1241 from outside of the location1240. For example, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 may receive anaccess code associated with the garage door 1241 from one or moreexternal computer devices or resources over the network 1280, e.g., fromcomputer devices associated with an online marketplace from which theorder was placed, or from a smartphone or other computer deviceassociated with the customer. Upon receiving the access code, anidentifier of the garage door 1241, and a frequency at which the accesscode should be transmitted (e.g., a radio frequency signal typicallywithin a range of approximately three hundred to four hundred megahertz,or MHz), the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 may transmit the code in adirection of the garage door 1241, thereby causing the garage door 1241to open. The autonomous ground vehicle 1250 may then enter the location1240 via the garage door 1241 and deposit the ordered item there, e.g.,either in the garage, or in or adjacent to one or more vehicles storedtherein and/or retrieve one or more items or materials therefrom. Insome embodiments, the access code may be permanently associated with thegarage door 1241, or ordinarily used to operate the garage door 1241 forany purpose. Alternatively, the access code may be temporary in nature,and may be invalidated after access to the location 1240 by theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 has been obtained for a specific purpose.Additionally, in some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250may transmit another code (e.g., the access code, again) afterdepositing the item, thereby causing the garage door 1241 to close.

As another example, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 may access thelocation 1240 by wirelessly activating a doorbell 1247 or other feedbackdevice from outside of the location 1240. As is shown in FIG. 12D, theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 may receive an access code associatedwith the doorbell 1247 or other feedback device within the location 1240from one or more external computer devices or resources over the network1280. Upon receiving the access code, an identifier of the doorbell 1247and a frequency at which the access code should be transmitted (e.g., aradio frequency signal typically within a range of approximately threehundred to five hundred megahertz, or MHz), the autonomous groundvehicle 1250 may wirelessly transmit the access code in a direction ofthe front door 1245 to cause the doorbell 1247 to sound, therebysignaling to any personnel within the location 1240 that the autonomousground vehicle 1250 is outside of the location 1240 and prepared todeliver an ordered item or deposit the ordered item there. In the eventthat one or more individuals are inside the location 1240 and within anacoustic range of the doorbell 1247, one or more of such individuals mayexit the location 1240 and retrieve the ordered item from a storagecompartment within the autonomous ground vehicle 1250. In the event thatno one is available to obtain the ordered item, however, the autonomousground vehicle 1250 may wait for a predetermined period of time beforedepositing the ordered item outside of the location 1240, or returningto a fulfillment center or other location (e.g., a neighbor, a temporarystorage facility such as a storage locker, or any other location) withthe ordered item for delivery on a later day.

As another example, and as is shown in FIG. 12E and FIG. 12F, theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 may access the location 1240 bywirelessly opening the pet door 1243 via NFC or Bluetooth®communications. For example, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 mayreceive an access code associated with the pet door 1243 from one ormore external computer device or resources over the network 1280. Uponreceiving the access code, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 mayapproach to within a very short range of the pet door 1243, e.g.,approximately one-and-one-half inches for NFC communications, andtransmit the code to a wireless system associated with the pet door 1243(e.g., a high frequency or RFID signal typically within a range ofapproximately 13.56 megahertz, or MHz), and may deposit the ordered itemtherein, or retrieve items or materials therefrom. Alternatively, aBluetooth® signal may be transmitted at greater distances (e.g., at afrequency of approximately 2.4 gigahertz, or GHz). The location 1240and/or the pet door 1243 may be further configured with one or moreguidance systems that may interactively communicate with and/or betweenthe autonomous ground vehicle 1250, and provide one or more instructionsfor guiding the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 through the pet door1243. Additionally, in some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicle1250 may transmit another code (e.g., the access code, again) afterdepositing the item, thereby causing the pet door 1243 to close.

As yet another example, and as is shown in FIG. 12G and FIG. 12H, theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 may be temporarily granted access to thelocation 1240 by an intermediary device 1262, which may include one ormore processors, memory components, transceivers and/or other systemsthat are specifically programmed by a customer, a resident or otherpersonnel at the location 1240 to grant access thereto under limitedcircumstances. As is shown in FIG. 12G, and upon confirming its positionat the location 1240 based on signals received from the GPS network1285, the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 may report its position to anexternal computer device or resource (not shown) via the network 1280.The external computer device or resource may then transmit aninstruction to the intermediary device 1262 via the network 1280,indicating that the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 has arrived fordelivery of an item to the customer and requesting access to thelocation.

As is shown in FIG. 12H, and upon receiving the instruction, theintermediary device 1262 may confirm that the autonomous ground vehicle1250 is authorized to access the location 1240, e.g., by validating theinstruction. The intermediary device 1262 may then grant access to theautonomous ground vehicle 1250 in any number of ways. For example, theintermediary device 1262 may wirelessly activate the garage door 1241,the pet door 1243 and/or the doorbell 1247 by transmitting one or moreaccess codes at predetermined frequencies. The use of the intermediarydevice 1262 enables the customer, the resident or the other personnel atthe location 1240 to grant or deny access to the location 1240 withoutdivulging any access codes, passwords, authenticators, keys, tokens orsimilar information to any external computer devices or resources, e.g.,the autonomous ground vehicle 1250 or any devices or resources availableover the network 1280, or without having to reprogram or redefine suchcodes, passwords, authenticators, keys or tokens after the autonomousground vehicle 1250 has departed from the location 1240.

Although some of the autonomous vehicles disclosed herein are depictedas autonomous ground vehicles, those of ordinary skill in the pertinentarts will recognize that the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure are not so limited. Rather, the autonomous vehicles of thepresent disclosure may be any type of vehicle that is configured totransport items from one location (e.g., a fulfillment center or anyother type of location) to another location where demand for such itemsis known, observed or predicted, as well as any type of vehicle that isconfigured to retrieve items, waste products generated by such items, orremnants or scraps of such items that are no longer desired, ormaterials included in such items, from other locations, to manufactureitems from stock materials or from materials that are retrieved fromsuch locations, or to automatically access a location where items are tobe delivered or from which items are to be retrieved. The autonomousvehicles of the present disclosure may further include any type ofvehicles that are configured to transfer items or materials to a human,a machine or another vehicle, or to receive items or materials from ahuman, a machine or another vehicle, as necessary. In this regard, theautonomous vehicles of the present disclosure may include vehicles thatare configured to travel by air, by sea, or across outer space, as wellas on land.

Furthermore, although some of the embodiments of the present disclosuredepict the distribution or forward-deployment of inventory of items thatare made available to customers through online marketplaces, those ofordinary skill in the pertinent arts will recognize that the systems andmethods of the present disclosure are not so limited. Rather, autonomousvehicles may be used to distribute or forward-deploy inventory that maybe made available through traditional commercial channels, e.g., bytelephone or in one or more bricks-and-mortar stores, and delivered tocustomers or designated locations rapidly in response to orders for suchitems. Moreover, although some of the embodiments of the presentdisclosure depict autonomous ground vehicles that are small in size,those of ordinary skill in the pertinent arts will recognize that thesystems and methods of the present disclosure are not so limited.Rather, autonomous vehicles may be of any size or shape, and may beconfigured or outfitted with features that enable the distribution,delivery, retrieval or manufacture of items of any type or kind, and ofany size or shape, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Although some embodiments of the present disclosure show thedistribution or forward deployment of items that are available forpurchase from an online marketplace to one or more locations based onknown, observed or predicted demand using autonomous ground vehicles,the retrieval of items or materials by autonomous ground vehicles andthe construction of items therefrom on behalf of an online marketplaceusing autonomous ground vehicles that are en route to destinations, thesystems and methods of the present disclosure are not so limited.Rather, the systems and methods of the present disclosure may beutilized in any environment where the improved distribution of items,the efficient retrieval and reuse of items or materials, or rapid insitu manufacturing of items in given locations or regions is desired.For example, in some embodiments, the autonomous ground vehicles may beutilized in trash hauling or recycling systems, and may be used to sorttrash or recyclable materials based on their content while en route to adump or transfer station, or to recognize and extract valuable materialsfrom discarded items.

It should be understood that, unless otherwise explicitly or implicitlyindicated herein, any of the features, characteristics, alternatives ormodifications described regarding a particular embodiment herein mayalso be applied, used, or incorporated with any other embodimentdescribed herein, and that the drawings and detailed description of thepresent disclosure are intended to cover all modifications, equivalentsand alternatives to the various embodiments as defined by the appendedclaims. Moreover, with respect to the one or more methods or processesof the present disclosure described herein, including but not limited tothe flow charts shown in FIG. 3, 9 or 11, orders in which such methodsor processes are presented are not intended to be construed as anylimitation on the claimed inventions, and any number of the method orprocess steps or boxes described herein can be combined in any orderand/or in parallel to implement the methods or processes describedherein. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the detaileddescription is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings,which are not drawn to scale. In the drawings, the use of the same orsimilar reference numbers in different figures indicates the same orsimilar items or features. Except where otherwise noted, left-mostdigit(s) of a reference number identify a figure in which the referencenumber first appears, while two right-most digits of a reference numberin a figure indicate a component or a feature that is similar tocomponents or features having reference numbers with the same tworight-most digits in other figures.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey in apermissive manner that certain embodiments could include, or have thepotential to include, but do not mandate or require, certain features,elements and/or steps. In a similar manner, terms such as “include,”“including” and “includes” are generally intended to mean “including,but not limited to.” Thus, such conditional language is not generallyintended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any wayrequired for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment.

The elements of a method, process, or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly inhardware, in a software module stored in one or more memory devices andexecuted by one or more processors, or in a combination of the two. Asoftware module can reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM or anyother form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, media, orphysical computer storage known in the art. An example storage mediumcan be coupled to the processor such that the processor can readinformation from, and write information to, the storage medium. In thealternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. Thestorage medium can be volatile or nonvolatile. The processor and thestorage medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a userterminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium canreside as discrete components in a user terminal.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,” or“at least one of X, Y and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, isotherwise understood with the context as used in general to present thatan item, term, etc., may be either X, Y, or Z, or any combinationthereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z). Thus, such disjunctive language is notgenerally intended to, and should not, imply that certain embodimentsrequire at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z toeach be present.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles such as “a” or “an” shouldgenerally be interpreted to include one or more described items.Accordingly, phrases such as “a device configured to” are intended toinclude one or more recited devices. Such one or more recited devicescan also be collectively configured to carry out the stated recitations.For example, “a processor configured to carry out recitations A, B andC” can include a first processor configured to carry out recitation Aworking in conjunction with a second processor configured to carry outrecitations B and C.

Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “about,”“approximately,” “generally,” “nearly” or “substantially” as usedherein, represent a value, amount, or characteristic close to the statedvalue, amount, or characteristic that still performs a desired functionor achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “about,”“approximately,” “generally,” “nearly” or “substantially” may refer toan amount that is within less than 10% of, within less than 5% of,within less than 1% of, within less than 0.1% of, and within less than0.01% of the stated amount.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respectto illustrative embodiments thereof, the foregoing and various otheradditions and omissions may be made therein and thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A distribution system comprising: a fulfillmentcenter; a plurality of autonomous ground vehicles; at least one carriervehicle; at least one computer system in communication with at leastsome of the plurality of autonomous ground vehicles and the at least oneitem carrier, wherein the at least one computer system is configured toexecute a method comprising: predicting, at a first time, a first levelof demand for a first item in a first geographic region at a secondtime, wherein the fulfillment center is not in the first geographicregion; determining a first number of the first item associated with thefirst level of demand in the first geographic region at the second time;prior to the second time, loading at least the first number of the firstitem into at least a first one of the plurality of autonomous groundvehicles at the fulfillment center; prior to the second time, causing atleast the first autonomous ground vehicle to be loaded onto the at leastone carrier vehicle at the fulfillment center; causing the at least onecarrier vehicle to travel from the fulfillment center to a firstlocation in the first geographic region; causing the first autonomousground vehicle to disembark from the at least one carrier vehicle at thefirst location; receiving an order for a delivery of one of the firstitem to a second location in the first geographic area; and causing thefirst autonomous ground vehicle to transport the one of the first itemto the second location.
 2. The distribution system of claim 1, whereinthe method further comprises: predicting, at the first time, a secondlevel of demand for a second item in the first geographic region at thesecond time; determining a second number of the second item associatedwith the second level of demand in the first geographic region at thesecond time; prior to the second time, loading at least the secondnumber of the second item into at least a second one of the plurality ofautonomous ground vehicles at the fulfillment center; prior to thesecond time, causing at least the second autonomous ground vehicle to beloaded onto the at least one carrier vehicle at the fulfillment center;selecting the second location based at least in part on the first levelof demand for the first item; selecting a third location in the firstgeographic region based at least in part on the second level of demandfor the second item; causing the at least one carrier vehicle to travelto the third location; causing the second autonomous ground vehicle todisembark from the at least one carrier vehicle at the third location;receiving an order for a delivery of one of the second item to a fourthlocation in the first geographic area; and causing the first autonomousground vehicle to transport the one of the first item to the fourthlocation.
 3. The distribution system of claim 1, wherein the carriervehicle is one of a tractor-trailer, a container ship or a cargoaircraft.
 4. A computer-implemented method comprising: determining alevel of demand for a first item in a first geographic area by at leastone computer server; in response to determining the level of demand forthe first item in the first geographic area, selecting a first number ofthe first item based at least in part on the level of demand for thefirst item in the first geographic area by the at least one computerserver; loading at least the first number of the first item into atleast a first storage compartment of a first autonomous ground vehicleat a first location, wherein the first autonomous ground vehiclecomprises: the first storage compartment; a plurality of wheels; anelectric motor; at least one wireless transceiver; a Global PositioningSystem receiver; and at least one computer processor; wherein the firstlocation is not in the first geographic area; and causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to be transported from the first location to asecond location within the first geographic area.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising: receiving afirst order for a delivery of at least one of the first item to a thirdlocation by the at least one computer server over a network, wherein thethird location is within the first geographic area; and in response toreceiving the first order for the delivery of the at least one of thefirst item to the third location, causing the first autonomous groundvehicle to fulfill the first order, wherein causing the first autonomousground vehicle to fulfill the first order comprises transmitting atleast one instruction to deliver the at least one of the first item tothe third location to the first autonomous ground vehicle over thenetwork.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, whereinreceiving the order for the delivery of the at least one of the firstitem to the third location comprises: receiving a plurality of ordersfor deliveries of at least one of the first item to one of a pluralityof locations within the first geographic area by the at least onecomputer server over the network, wherein the first order is one of theplurality of orders, and wherein the third location is one of theplurality of locations; and determining an optimal route for fulfillingeach of the plurality of orders based at least in part on the pluralityof locations within the first geographic area, wherein the optimal routebegins at the second location and includes each of the plurality oflocations, wherein causing the first autonomous ground vehicle tofulfill the first order comprises: causing the first autonomous groundvehicle to fulfill each of the plurality of orders, and wherein the atleast one instruction to deliver the at least one of the first item tothe third location comprises an instruction to deliver the at least oneof the first item to each of the plurality of locations via the optimalroute.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, whereindetermining the level of demand for the first item in the firstgeographic area comprises: determining, by the at least one computerserver, at least one of: prior purchases of the first item or a seconditem by customers in a plurality of locations in the first geographicarea over a predetermined period of time, wherein the second item is oneof a complement to the first item or a substitute for the first item; orprior deliveries of the first item or the second item to the pluralityof locations in the first geographic area over the predetermined periodof time; and predicting the level of demand for the first item in thefirst geographic area based at least in part on at least one of theprior purchases or the prior deliveries.
 8. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, wherein determining the level of demand for the firstitem in the first geographic area comprises: identifying a firstattribute of the first geographic area by the at least one computerserver; determining, by the at least one computer server, that the firstattribute is similar to a second attribute of a second geographic area;and in response to determining that the first attribute is similar tothe second attribute, determining a level of demand for the first itemin the second geographic area by the at least one computer server,wherein the level of demand for the first item in the first geographicarea is determined based at least in part on the level of demand for thefirst item in the second geographic area.
 9. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, wherein determining the level of demand for the firstitem in the first geographic area comprises: identifying an upcomingevent occurring in at least the first geographic area by the at leastone computer server, wherein the first item is related to the upcomingevent, and wherein the level of demand of the first item in the firstgeographic area is determined based at least in part on the upcomingevent.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, furthercomprising: identifying a demand threshold associated with at least oneof the first item or the first geographic area by the at least onecomputer server; and determining that the level of demand for the firstitem in the first geographic area exceeds the demand threshold by the atleast one computer server, wherein the first number of the first item isselected based at least in part on the level of demand for the firstgeographic area in response to determining that the level of demandexceeds the demand threshold.
 11. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 4, wherein determining the level of demand for the first item inthe first geographic area comprises: determining levels of demand forthe first item in each of a plurality of geographic areas by the atleast one computer server; selecting one of the plurality of geographicareas having a highest one of the levels of demand for the first item bythe at least one computer server, wherein the first geographic area isthe one of the plurality of geographic areas having the highest one ofthe levels of demand for the first item.
 12. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, further comprising: determining a level of demand fora second item in the first geographic area by the at least one computerserver; in response to determining the level of demand for the seconditem in the first geographic area, selecting a second number of thesecond item based at least in part on the level of demand for the seconditem in the first geographic area by the at least one computer server;loading at least the second number of the first item into at least asecond storage compartment of the first autonomous ground vehicle at thefirst location; and selecting the second location based at least in parton at least one of the level of demand for the first item or the levelof demand for the second item.
 13. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 4, further comprising: determining a level of demand for a seconditem in the first geographic area by the at least one computer server;in response to determining the level of demand for the second item inthe first geographic area, selecting a second number of the second itembased at least in part on the level of demand for the second item in thefirst geographic area by the at least one computer server; loading atleast the second number of the first item into at least a second storagecompartment of a second autonomous ground vehicle at the first location,wherein the second autonomous ground vehicle comprises: the secondstorage compartment; a plurality of wheels; an electric motor; at leastone wireless transceiver; a Global Positioning System receiver; and atleast one computer processor; and selecting the second location based atleast in part on the level of demand for the first item by the at leastone computer server; selecting a third location within the firstgeographic area based at least in part on the level of demand for thesecond item by the at least one computer server; and causing the secondautonomous ground vehicle to be transported from the first location tothe third location.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 5,determining that the first autonomous ground vehicle fulfilled the firstorder by the at least one computer server; and in response todetermining that the first autonomous ground vehicle fulfilled the firstorder by the at least one computer server, determining a level of demandfor a second item in a second geographic area by the at least onecomputer server; determining that at least one of the second item is ata third location by the at least one computer server, wherein the thirdlocation is within the first geographic area; causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to retrieve the at least one of the seconditem at the third location, wherein causing the first autonomous groundvehicle to retrieve the at least one of the second item from the thirdlocation comprises transmitting at least one instruction to travel fromthe second location to the third location to retrieve the at least oneof the second item to the first autonomous ground vehicle over thenetwork; and causing the first autonomous ground vehicle to betransported from the third location to a fourth location within thesecond geographic area.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 5,wherein causing the first autonomous ground vehicle to be transportedfrom the fulfillment center to the first location within the firstgeographic area comprises: causing the first autonomous ground vehicleto be loaded onto a carrier vehicle at the fulfillment center; causingthe carrier vehicle to be transported from the fulfillment center to thefirst location; and causing the first autonomous ground vehicle todisembark from the carrier vehicle at the first location.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the carrier vehicle isconfigured to securely accommodate at least the first autonomous groundvehicle therein, and wherein the carrier vehicle comprises at least oneof a ground-based vehicle, an aerial vehicle or a seagoing vessel. 17.The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to be transported from the third location tothe fourth location within the second geographic area comprises: causingthe first autonomous ground vehicle to be loaded onto a carrier vehicleat the third location; causing the carrier vehicle to be transportedfrom the third location to the fourth location; and causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to disembark from the carrier vehicle at thefourth location.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 4,receiving a first order for a delivery of at least one of the first itemto a third location by the at least one computer server over a network,wherein the third location is within the first geographic area; and inresponse to receiving the first order for the delivery of the at leastone of the first item to the third location, causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to travel to a fourth location, wherein thefourth location is within the first geographic area; causing the firstautonomous ground vehicle to transfer the at least one of the first itemfrom the first storage compartment of the first autonomous groundvehicle to a second storage compartment of a second autonomous groundvehicle, wherein the second autonomous ground vehicle comprises: thesecond storage compartment; a plurality of wheels; an electric motor; atleast one wireless transceiver; a Global Positioning System receiver;and at least one computer processor; causing the second autonomousvehicle to deliver the at least one of the first item from the fourthlocation to the third location; and causing the second autonomousvehicle to deposit the at least one of the first item at the thirdlocation.
 19. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, overa communications network, a first order for a purchase of an item from acustomer, wherein the first order specifies a destination for a deliveryof the item, and wherein the destination is located in a geographicarea; identifying a plurality of autonomous ground vehicles in thegeographic area by the at least one computer server, wherein each of theautonomous ground vehicles comprises: a frame; at least one pair ofwheels joined to at least one axle; at least one battery; a motordisposed within the frame, wherein the motor is configured to cause theat least one pair of wheels to rotate at a speed within a predeterminedspeed range; at least one storage compartment having at least the itemstored therein, wherein the at least one storage compartment is disposedwithin the frame, wherein the at least one storage compartment comprisesat least one door pivotably joined to an outer surface of the frame byat least one hinge, and wherein the at least one door is configured topivot between an open position and a closed position; at least one powermodule for powering the motor; a position sensor; at least one computerprocessor; and at least one memory component; determining at least oneattribute of each of the plurality of autonomous ground vehicles in thegeographic area by the at least one computer server, wherein the atleast one attribute is at least one of: a location within the geographicarea; a charge level of the at least one battery; the predeterminedspeed range; a number of the item in the at least one storagecompartment; an environmental condition in the geographic area;selecting a first autonomous ground vehicle by the at least one computerserver based at least in part on the at least one attribute of the firstautonomous ground vehicle, wherein the first autonomous ground vehicleis one of the plurality of autonomous ground vehicles in the geographicarea; determining an optimal route for the delivery of the item to thedestination by the first autonomous ground vehicle; and causing thefirst autonomous ground vehicle to deliver the item from the location ofthe first autonomous ground vehicle to the destination.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein receiving the firstorder for the purchase of the item from the customer comprises:receiving, over the communications network, a plurality of orders forpurchases of the item, wherein each of the orders specifies destinationsfor deliveries of the item, wherein each of the destinations is locatedin the geographic area, and wherein the first order is one of theplurality of orders, wherein selecting the one of the plurality ofautonomous ground vehicles in the geographic area comprises: selecting,for each of the plurality of orders for purchases of the item, one ofthe plurality of autonomous ground vehicles in the geographic area bythe at least one computer server, wherein the first autonomous groundvehicle is the one of the plurality of autonomous ground vehicles in thegeographic area selected for the first order; and wherein causing theselected autonomous ground vehicle to deliver the item to thedestination further comprises: transmitting, over the communicationsnetwork, instructions to deliver the item to each of the destinations toeach of the selected autonomous ground vehicles.